A valid case for Southport to Ormskirk reinstatement

I was interested to read the article about the Preston to Ormskirk line ( RAIL 887).

As a resident in the area, I can argue that reinstatement of the Burscough South Curve, which would link the Southport-Wigan line and the Ormskirk-Preston line to enable a Southport to Ormskirk service, would provide considerable benefits.

In recent years, the narrow road between these two towns has become very slow and congested for much of the day, as a result of population growth and the establishment of Edge Hill

University in Ormskirk. A rail alternative would be welcomed.

As there is a current maximum of two trains an hour each way between Southport and Wigan, and one an hour each way on the single-track line from Ormskirk to Preston, with no freight traffic on these lines, a twice-hourly return service from Southport to Ormskirk could easily be interleaved without altering the existing services on the two lines.

The infrastructure work needed would be relatively trivial - the clearing of vegetation and laying a single track on the abandoned embankment, which is only perhaps 300 metres (330 yards) in length, plus the addition of three sets of points linking to the existing tracks.

Travel time from Southport would be about 20 minutes, given that SouthportWigan trains take 13 minutes to Burscough Bridge and trains from Preston take six minutes from Burscough Junction to Ormskirk.

It may be that ‘Grands Projets’ are the fashion, but I’m sure that a realistic cost:benefit analysis would overwhelmingly support the case for this small project.

Stephen Lee, Southport