Local employer investment needed for Cumbrian Coast Line
Cumbrian Coast line stakeholders have called for third-party investment in the scenic route to improve connections and journey times.
“The line needs upgrading, especially north of Sellafield where there’s a lot of single track. It desperately needs modern signalling on it because that’s one of the things that’s limiting the amount of traffic on the line,” Brendan Sweeney, vice-chairman of Barrow Borough Council told RAIL.
“Single track working on tokens limits what you can get out of the line. We need upgrades to the line; it’s not a nice-to-have, it’s a need-to-have that will have plenty of payback with plenty of business and lots of freight. The line is fairly busy, but by running more trains and more connections we could have a much better service.”
With Network Rail increasingly looking at different ways to secure third-party investment in the country’s rail network, RAIL asked Sweeney whether he would welcome Direct Rail Services (DRS) investing in upgrades to the line on the basis that its freight trains would be given priority over passenger services.
“My suspicion would be that anything that is done to improve freight services would also improve passenger services because DRS is a subsidiary of the nuclear plant owners. DRS has got big issues around poor rail passenger support thanks to the ‘37s’, so I would personally welcome DRS’ involvement in improving the line.
The company is one of the biggest employers in Barrow,” Sweeney said.
RAIL contacted DRS for comment, but there was no response as this issue went to press.
Tony Potts, chairman of Copeland Rail Users’ Group, echoed Sweeney’s comments surrounding single-track sections of the line, telling RAIL: “A lot of time could be saved by restoring the double track. That would be a major reduction in delays by getting rid of single-line sections on the line.”
The chairman of the lobbying group also called on Northern to improve services up and down the line, suggesting upgrades to the service patterns could restore locals’ perception of the line.
“We were hoping to have Sunday services south of Whitehaven from May but it isn’t going to happen as far as we know and we’re still waiting on a decision from Northern,” he said. “Our passenger services are fairly sparse - on average, there’s one an hour, but there are gaps in the timetable which people don’t like. We need to have a more regular service, but unfortunately we have several single-line sections, so any slight delay could accumulate.”
Potts concluded: “At a Travelwatch North West meeting, a Northern representative said they get more complaints from this line than all the others put together, so that gives you an idea about the public opinion of the line and the ‘37s’ that work along it.”