Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Preston. Called the ‘ CUMBRIAN MOUNTAIN SPECIAL’ in Preston it would have steam haulage to Carlisle, and would return behind diesels over the Tyne Valley route to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and then south on the East Coast Mainline. Following closely behind the Preston service yet another of the new CAF units, 195:129 also passed through east to west, but without any passengers and showing ‘ NOT IN SERVICE’ on the destination display. Presumably this was a driver training/familiarisation run. One of my insider contacts who had worked for First, the Northern and latterly Arriva Rail North highlighted the source of some of the self-inflicted problems which had contributed to the demise of Arriva. When in a First mess room he said that there would sometimes be up to five guards and three drivers on ‘standby’ to cover for any staff shortages and to maintain the timetable. By the time Northern were in charge, these figures had gone down to three guards and one driver on average, but under Arriva there were no spare staff on ‘standby’, therefore if for any reason a driver or guard missed turning up, there was no alternative but to cancel the service. He also said the staff had received instructions to cover the Rail North logos on their uniforms from Sunday the first. The ‘special’ excursion traffic did not end there however, for at 13:45 ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0 45562 ‘ Alberta ’ headed west on the ‘ COTTON MILL EXPRESS’ . This had started its journey in Lancaster, picking up at Preston and Wigan en route to Manchester Victoria. From there it ran via Stalybridge, Huddersfield to Brighouse, where it took on water, before continuing over Copy Pit to Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn before proceeding onward to partially go round the same route again, but this time returning to Manchester via Todmorden and Rochdale. The engine was seen coasting at speed from Huncoat in its green livery and displaying the 55A shed-plate for the former Holbeck Sheds in Leeds. Fares on both these excursions ranged from £259 for the full experience including breakfasts and silver service dinner, to £159 First Class and £99 Standard class on West Coast to £88 on the steam hauled Railway Touring Company train. March Conversations with our former MP did not make encouraging listening. The feasibility Study on the reopening of the Colne to Skipton section, suggested that the estimates for the work were in the region of £360millions. He felt there were less expensive options that could be explored including the use of local contractors to re-establish the track bed, whilst bringing in Railtrack to lay the lines and install the signalling. He stated that the people of Earby would prefer a new section of line going around the town centre, rather than through it on the course of the original line, which of course would also be a more expensive option. He, in answer to my question, “Why when Transport For the North is a topic on the media, only the respective leaders or mayors of the Metropolitan Counties are interviewed and never a spokesperson for Lancashire County Council”? He replied that the County don’t bother to attend any of the meetings of the groups lobbying for improvements to transport in the region, such as SELRAP and STELLA. It had been announced that Accrington Railway Station was on a list of 124 stations which were to receive funding in order to improve disabled access. The figure of £20millions in the ‘Access For All’ programme, has been suggested by the Minister, although just what this will amount to when divided up between such a large number of facilities was not yet clear, as it equated to £161,290 per project if divided up equally. It had been intimated that lifts between the two platforms might be a possibility. It is likely however, that all the improvements are likely to be making the Paxton Street side more easily accessible, which would still require a detour via Eagle Street and Blackburn Road to get to the down Platform 1. Neither Rishton nor Church & Oswaldtwistle were included on this list, whereas Huncoat does not have quite the same obstacles with which disabled people have to contend. At a recent County Council candidate selection meeting, I tabled the following written question - Whenever the Northern Powerhouse or Transport for the North is mentioned with regard to extra Government funding, either Andy Burnham or Steve Rotherham, or both, are interviewed by the media, whilst the Shire County is hardly, if ever, mentioned. What will you do to promote the interests of North East Lancashire, with specific regard to transport and its infrastructure? One candidate was quite positive in answering that it was imperative that this area should have a voice in determining what was required to be done and this included reinstating the Colne to Skipton line and extending the M65 into Yorkshire. However, the other candidate gave what I considered to be a very negative response. He gave the apparent lack of funding allocated to the north and the fact that the

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