Sponsored by
Campaign goes full steam ahead
A return to Nelson, please: Frederic Manby reports on a campaign to re-open the missing rail link between Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Sometime in the early 1960s I caught a train from Skipton, in west Yorkshire, and went to Nelson, in east Lancashire. I walked to a shop to buy some bits for the Mercian and then caught the train home. I though nothing of it. The line had been there since 1848 and seemed the obvious quick way to reach Nelson.
On this borderline edge of Yorkshire, the counties of the white rose and the red rose merge in landscape, tradition and social affinity. Supporters of Burnley FC used the Skipton-Colne trains to see thrills at Turf Moor, when Burnley was a top team. Yorkshire holidaymakers could reach the coastal resorts, notably Blackpool. A reciprocal movement from Lancashire to Skipton opened up the delights of the Yorkshire Dales to the mill-weary folk from the cotton towns.
There were stations at Elslack, Thornton-in-Craven, Earby and Foulridge, the latter two accessible easily by bus or bike from the major manufacturing town of Barnoldswick. Children could take the train to school in Skipton. In 1970, the line from Skipton to Colne closed. The government had decided that it could no longer subsidise the 11.5 miles of track. It was one of those short-sighted things, potty in the extreme, that happens. (Indeed, its current supporters think it was a clerical error, but that is conjecture). Earlier in the 1960s, lines all over the country were being closed, such as the one from Ilkley to Skipton, or strategic parts of the line that linked Newcastle with Northallerton, Ripon, Harrogate and Ilkley. A third of the network was lost. Instead, we built roads and more roads and wider roads and still we needed more roads. Today they are horribly congested and the sudden rise in fuel costs make us wonder whether it is worth sitting in a traffic jam any more. If only we still had all those railway links. Yet while all of us have seen miles of new road being built, hands up those who have seen a new railway being laid?
At the dawn of the 21st century, Steve Broadbent was looking for a challenge. He was already interested in railways from the social angle, as a way of travelling and was involved with the 1990s environmental pressure group Transport 2000. His self-imposed task: get the Skipton-Colne line reopened. As well as facing economic and physical barriers, he knew he would have to deal with decision makers from two counties. He met with like-minded friends in the Wetherspoons bar at Leeds station, and from there they met with kindred Lancastrian spirits in the solace of Colne Library. Steve became the founding chairman of SELRAP, which stands
for Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership.
Getting main lines reopened is almost unprecedented. The last time it happened in England was the resurrection of the Nottingham to Worksop line in 1998. Known as the Robin Hood line, it carries 3,500 passengers daily.
The outline of the campaign is this: win government approval, find some 43m for the line to be rebuilt as single track, nearly twice that for a double track, electric service through to Burnley, get someone to run the trains, and connect the affluent towns and cities of western Yorkshire with their less affluent neighbours in eastern Lancashire, and points beyond. Oh, is that all?
Remarkably, the Skipton-Colne route is still intact, either in British Rail, council or private ownership. You can walk most of it. Three major bridges have gone but are replaceable. Today, the revival plan has backing from hundreds of local, national and even European politicians, from teeny-weeny parish councils, the majority in Lancashire, such as Barley, to whopping big ones such as Craven, Harrogate and Lancaster District Councils, plus the unitary authorities of Blackpool, Bradford and Wigan. At its core, this 15-minute ride from Skipton to Colne, or indeed, Colne to Skipton.
The dreamers, whose struggle is described as "pushing a boulder uphill" by MP Gordon Prentice, are hoping to wake up to the reality of seeing the line rebuilt. SELRAP is at face value a group of under-funded, mostly retired, volunteers. They do not propose to build or run the line. That would be done by Government and a commercial operator. They note that few railways make a profit but do not see that as a deterrent. They want, at least, sustainability. In essence, they
must convince national government that it is feasible.
What they have got is tremendous ambition and determination to join-up this missing link in the rail network. The benefits? They envisage work opportunities for the citizens of east Lancashire commuting to flourishing Leeds, tourism of course in the Yorkshire Dales, all within an hour of Burnley, given the right train connections. En route, the trains would serve Nelson, Colne, Barnoldswick, and Earby (which still has its Station Hotel).
The destination town of Skipton is the antithesis of its Lancashire neighbours, with a fine castle and a main shopping street worthy enough to be in the final three shortlist in a vote to find the best high streets in the country. Its highly-rated schools receive pupils from Barnoldswick and Earby.
Reasons for travelling the other way, into Lancashire, are less compelling. Colne's character is nothing like that of Skipton or Settle. It has some prestigious car showrooms and Boundary Mill, a retail honey pot offering big labels at low prices. The mill's chief executive, Richard Bannister, is a SELRAP patron. He had two million shoppers last year and has just moved to new premises. Part of the planning permission for the vast new store and cafes was building a footpath to Colne station. The walk takes a few minutes. Other than that, most travellers from Yorkshire ignore Colne and by-pass Nelson and Burnley without a halt on their way to the M6, Manchester airport, or seaside fun in Blackpool.
Is there more to explore in the Pendle area? SELRAP's Andy Shackleton describes it as "one of the nation's understated tourist assets. With uncrowded walks, on and off-road bike rides: and then there's Pendle Hill with its satellite villages. From the top of Lancashire's finest, on a good day, you can see the Lake District hills, Blackpool tower, and the Welsh mountains".
In theory, given tweaks to other bits of the network, the rail link from Skipton to Manchester Airport via Colne could be quicker than going via Leeds.
Mental extrapolation throws up other potential links in the north west, but
the main thrust is that the Skipton-Colne line would be an integral part of the regional economy, and not just a short bit of railway.
Such high-speed ambitions would require a double track line and electrification, costing well over 80m, plus a sizeable annual bill. At present the track technology is barely 20th century, never mind 21st. Train drivers using the Colne-Nelson line must stop at one road junction and pull a rope to activate the barriers.
The campaign is amazing. Its energy is remarkable. They knock at doors, are invited in, and are listened to. Even its supporters regard its progress as astonishing, but as they note, they leave no stone unturned in advancing in "a pincer movement" on their target.
They are on a roll, reaching higher and higher with their boulder. Sometime this year they are assured that their plans will be heard in a 90-minute adjournment debate in the Commons. Their target for reopening is from 2012, reckoning on a maximum of two years to install the track and stations.
"A number of people think it will never happen, but most people firmly believe it will happen", states Andy Shackleton, early 60s, full of drive, marathon runner, author of a book on cycling round Iceland, former head of technology at a Skipton secondary school.
As a boy in the 1950s he travelled the country by train from home in Todmorden, train-spotting: "I do remember being able to go almost anywhere by train and I have never forgotten it. Now it saddens me enormously that this national network is lost".
Today, Andy Shackleton describes himself as an enthusiast for rail. As liaison officer for SELRAP and editor of its excellent and very readable Craven Rail bulletins he finds himself on first-name terms with Gordon (Prentice, MP for Pendle), David (Curry, MP for Skipton & Ripon), Timothy (Kirkhope, Euro MP for Yorkshire and the Humber, and Conservative Transport Spokesman in Europe) and Brian (Simpson, Euro MP for the North West, and Socialist Transport and Tourism spokesman).
All four are patrons of SELRAP. A few years ago Messrs Curry and Prentice snipped a symbolic red and white rope placed across the trackbed where the old line crosses the Yorkshire-Lancashire Border at Thornton in Craven.
The list of backers and supporters is immense. Who is left to convince? Mostly just Tom. As Rail Minister, Tom Harris has told MEP Brian Simpson that he has no objection to the reopening of old railway lines provided the economic case stacks up. Mr Harris has told SELRAP that
he will meet them to discuss Skipton-Colne when they have the formal approval of both the North Yorkshire
and Lancashire County Councils.
Both these objectives look promising, albeit having to dissuade Lancashire's road planners not to go ahead with a Colne-Earby bypass using the old railway track bed. At the end of May, the Craven Area Committee on North Yorkshire County Council voted formally to support SELRAP's aims and ambitions, with the prospect of ratification by the full council at their next meeting in July.
Andy Shackleton points out that by 2010 there will be 15 million of us over the age of 60 – ergo, they will feel more like letting the train take the strain. He notes that the Glasgow-Larkhall line, reopened in 2005 by the Scottish Executive, is carrying 50 per cent more than "the wildest estimates".
Herein lies a hitch that Andy Shackleton does not deny. Trains are already overcrowded at peak times and tickets are expensive unless you buy them in advance. Why so? Andy Shackleton's canvassing for SELRAP recently took him to London to address the All Party railway group of MPs. His day return ticket purchased in advance from Skipton to Kings Cross cost 45. On the day of travel it could have cost more than 200. He is far from alone in wanting more reasonable walk-on fares.
That just leaves the money hurdle. "It's all about who pays", agrees Andy Shackleton. There could be cash from Europe, from central government, the regional development agencies, maybe from entrepreneurs who envisage a commercial spin-off by opening new businesses along the route.
SELRAP has already met the Kilbride Group – a transportation and property developer which is in discussions to open a line from Bere Alston to Tavistock, in Devon. Whether it will put money into the Skipton-Colne line remains to be seen. It will want a property portfolio
in return.
Peripheral development such as this will bring new jobs but will need to be confined to brownfield or other non-sensitive areas. As it is, there are bound to be objections from residents along the route, which passes through what is now unsullied countryside, including the Broughton Hall estate, between Skipton and Earby.
"It will happen", says Andy Shackleton. From his hilltop house on the rural edge of Barnoldswick he would be able to see the trains in the distance. "We've dispelled the disbelief, but not the incredulity of it all". Perhaps, one day, there will be a commemorative plaque to the vision in Wetherspoons?
The Yorkshire Post will give comprehensive coverage to the campaign in the coming weeks and months.
See www.selrap.org.uk
A study commissioned from JMP consultants last year costed a single track feeder line, with one passing loop and new stations at Earby and Foulridge at 42.6m. A double track line, with electrification and doubling of the existing single track line from Colne to Burnley, is estimated at 80.7m. Annual running costs are 858,000 for an hourly Skipton to Colne service. Costs will be higher for through trains to Blackburn (2.4m), Blackpool (3.36m) and Manchester (6.25m).
The forecast is for passenger use for Skipton-Colne in 2014 of between 341,000 and 565,000, with revenue of between 914,000 and 1.5m a year. In the 1920s the UK had 7,000 railway stations, reduced to 5,000 in the 1950s and 2,500 in 2008. Over the same era track has
dwindled from 23,000 miles to 17,000 to 10,000.
Last year we made 1.2bn rail journeys (from 735m in 1994) which was the highest usage since 1946.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
