Does the East Lancashire Railway commuter trains plan stack up?

THE situation with the East Lancashire Railway management and Rossendale Council (issue 287) really encapsulates the problem between those running a heritage line and those wanting to reintroduce a commuter line.

The basic transport system was established in the late 18th and early 19th century, and the Rossendale area has little room for any new transport.

The Beeching cuts left a truncated single line to Rawtenstall, with passenger trains finishing in the early 1980s and coal traffic some years later. In the intervening years, the ELR has certainly turned the line into a popular tourist attraction.

That said, the area also has a chronic transport problem, especially on the route to Manchester.

A heritage line is run for leisure and pleasure, whereas a commuter line is for work – two totally different uses. To make the ELR into a commuter line would require resources beyond the financial means of the company and would be a huge gamble, needing enhanced infrastructure including new signalling, two proposed new stations, adequate car parking and very probably returning the line to double track. Is this viable, given passengers for beyond Bury would need to change trains, whereas the ELR has turned a disused line into a very positive asset for the area? David Mathias, Haslingden,

Rossendale, Lancashire.

A Manchester Metrolink tram bound for Bury. Under Rossendale Council’s current plan, commuters from Rawtenstall would take a Vivarail Class 230 DMU to a new interchange station at Buckley Wells, and then board a Metrolink tram to Manchester city centre. Would commuters be prepared to face the hassle of changing trains each way every day, or prefer to make one single journey using a car or bus? ROBIN JONES