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Two rail routes in Lancashire to be electrified

10:49am Monday 14th December 2009


TWO rail routes in Lancashire are to be electrified, it has been announced today.

Work will be carried out on the 25-mile route between Manchester and Euxton Junction of Chorley and the 17 miles between Blackpool North and Preston.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said it meant rail passengers would benefit from greener, more comfortable and reliable rail journeys.

Bosses also said the electrification, combined with other improvements to track and signalling on the lines, would improve journeys between several of the key towns and cities in the North-West.

The 15-mile line between Huyton and Wigan will also be electrified.

Mr Adonis said: “"It is essential that we invest in our railways now and over the longer term.

"This is a further step in the biggest electrification programme in a generation and it’s a vital part of our rail investment and carbon reduction strategies.

"By 2017 over two-thirds of passenger rail will be on electrified routes.”

Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle said: “I've been lobbying for the electrification of the Manchester to Preston line for some time.

"We've now seen the Government act and submit plans for an electrification scheme which will mean passengers in Chorley and other areas such as Bolton and Preston, will now benefit from a much improved service with modern trains fit for purpose.

“With the construction of the railway station at Buckshaw Village, people in Chorley can now look forward to significant improvements in our railway infrastructure which will hopefully encourage more people to use the train.”


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Your Say YourCitizen

pip-pip, says...
11:17am Mon 14 Dec 09

Nothing for Pennine Lancashire, then.

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Kevin, Colne, Colne says...
1:23pm Mon 14 Dec 09

We in East Lancashire should be grateful and appreciative of the crumbs that we get from the Master's table. We just don't realise or acknowledge just what fine crumbs these are.

The East Lancashire service (Blackpool-Preston-B
lackburn-Colne) should be branded by the Strategic Rail Authority as 'The Cast-Off Line' and marketed accordingly.

Generally the stock - trains - used on the service are cast-offs from lines that have received new trains. Of course our 'new' stock is given a fresh lick of paint to try and fool us, which is the equivalent of putting a vinyl roof on a Model-T Ford and pretending that it's now a Ford Mustang.

Whenever I travel by train to or from Colne I always want to sing the Flanders and Swann song 'The Slow Train'. It captures the character of the service perfectly.

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Richard_Nelson, Nelson says...
1:40pm Mon 14 Dec 09

Can we just have £80 million for the Colne - Skipton line being re-opened. As per usual the goverment totally forget about E.Lancs and invest in the major towns and cities in Lancashire. Why does central goverment always neglect our needs. It's terrible, London gets a new railway line worth £8 billion, the proposed high speed 2 line will cost billions yet poor old east lancashire who would greatly benefit from the line being re-opened gets nothing.

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Kevin, Colne, Colne says...
2:45pm Mon 14 Dec 09

Richard

I was thinking about my earlier comment and wondering whether I have been a bit unfair. Was there not an earlier announcement of improvements to the East Lancashire line? You know, the sort of thing: station improvements, new signage etc. although this is nothing by comparison to the investment being made elsewhere. I suppose the argument is that the investment goes to where it produces the greatest return; and sadly that's not East Lancashire.

Kevin

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Noiticer, Blackburn says...
9:43am Tue 15 Dec 09

Kevin's point about 'producing the greatest return' is a bit chicken and egg. If the East Lancs Line, which serves a population of about 300 000 plus, was upgraded with attractive, speedy services, integrated with connecting feeder buses and marketed properly it would blossom just as many lines in West Yorkshire have in what is a similar socio-economic area. The Roses Link, between Blackpool and York via NE Lancs is a case in point. It started in the earl 80's on the initiative of a building society with one return journey to Leeds each day and is now hourly and well used throughout the day. Our local politicians have focussed( and still do) all their energies in promoting the M65 with its resultant rush hour congestion and urban sprawl.Our local rail route could be a equal catalyst to regeneraton of the area.

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Richard_Nelson, Nelson says...
1:42pm Tue 15 Dec 09

Kevin,
It's already been proved that it would make a good investment. The problem is the Dept for Transport is more focused on spending billions on projects in London that us little people in Lancashire just don't even register with them. The traffic in colne is terrible and when the new sainsbury's opens it will be at a standstill. The county council keep banging on about using public transport. Well the buses are a rip off and if I used them every day to get to work would add about 2 hours to my journey time. If there were trains running I would use them.

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TRANSPORT LINKS: Bolton Station, which would get a boost from the electrification of the Manchester to Preston railway line TRANSPORT LINKS: Bolton Station, which would get a boost from the electrification of the Manchester to Preston railway line


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