Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Hyndburn Council was ramping up the pressure on the Government, to reiterate its commitment to seriously consider the reopening of the Skipton to Colne section of railway line. Councillors were to debate this on the grounds that it would be consistent with their policy of ‘levelling up’, to bring projects to link areas in the north up closer to the standards of those enjoyed in other parts of the country, especially the south and the south-east. They argued that it would be of benefit to several “deprived” communities, reaping benefits similar to those gained when the Todmorden Loop was reinstated. Also adding to the debate was Peter Bryson, the Chairman of SELRAP. He had identified two algorithms that were being used by the DfT to assess the reversing of previous closures. The first of these was the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook (PDFH). The second was the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR). He has suggested that these are “inherently biased towards the more wealthy regions”, and that these sets of criteria portray the impression “that less affluent people will not want to use the trains”. He went on to point out that the Skipton to Colne section would connect more of the people of East Lancashire to West Yorkshire, with a larger population larger than that of Oxford and Cambridge combined. They were to be given a third connection, identified as the East West Railway (EWR) at an estimated cost of £5 billions. He also stated that that by using the BCR to calculate the benefits the Oxford - Cambridge project gets a positive rating, whilst the Skipton - Colne does not. He has suggested that this Government’s “obsession” with the figures produced using the BCR “borders on the ludicrous”. He further concluded, “If the reopening of the Skipton to Colne section cannot be demonstrated to be a successful project, then not one of those aimed at reinstating closed lines can be either”. In early 2018 SELRAP’s own estimate for this work was £100 millions, which has doubled in three years. By contrast the latest estimated cost for the reinstatement of the Skipton - Colne section had been calculated at £200 millions*. To put this into perspective, for every pound spent on this project about 85 pounds has been spent in constructing the Elizabeth Line across London. *It is a well-known tactic for protestors in opposition to a project to raise objections in order to delay work, thereby increasing the cost in order to render it unviable. Objectors to HS2 have initiated this tactic, without having to fund the extra expense they have incurred. It was even a means which objectors to the building of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway deployed in 1830. A locally-based Community Rail Organistation had won the ‘Best Community Engagement Award’ along with the Permanent Community Art Scheme Award’, at the National Community Rail Awards Ceremony in December. On Sunday the 17 th , Colas Rail brought some track-laying equipment through Accrington. It had come via Copy Pit earlier in the morning and had turned in Blackburn to return through town at minutes after 10:00. The locomotive in charge was 56:113 ahead of a long train of wagons with large lengths of continuously welded rail. Also noted were 150:114 leading 150:224 on the returning Manchester to Blackburn service, 156:420 leading 150:136 on the Colne to Blackpool South service, whilst 195:130 was operating on the Preston to Leeds, where passengers to and from Blackpool North were now currently obliged to change. Northern Rail reduced their off-peak service frequencies from Monday the 18 th , concentrating on the morning and afternoon peak times. The trans-Pennine services were also being curtailed to operate between Preston and Leeds only. This would remain in force until further notice. With strict measures against gatherings still in force, councillors campaigning for Rishton Station to be included in the timetable of the Blackburn  Manchester/Southport Service, were obliged to use a video link to promote their crusade. Councillor Aziz, along with Kate Walsh, Jodi Clements and former MP Graham Jones, spoke with Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon and Shadow Rail Minister Tan Dhesi, who supported the call for Rishton to be included to cut the journey time to under an hour to Victoria Station. For the first time in practically two weeks the Preston Docks to Lindsey Oil Refinery train ran on Wednesday the 27 th . It consisted of twelve bogie tank wagons hauled by Colas Rail’s 70:811, and was noted at speed passing through Huncoat Station. It was running over ten minutes early probably because of the reduction in passenger services brought about by the pandemic. Also noted were 156:461 on the Colne  Blackpool South, and 150:133 leading 150:136 on the Blackburn  Manchester Victoria, which usually continued on to Southport via Wigan Wallgate. However, due to flooding between Manchester and Wigan it was possible that this section was not yet open to through trains.

494