North misses out again on rail

IF I understand this week’s transport news, it goes something like this.

The Government can afford £70bn to build a new railway between London, Birmingham and Manchester so we can all travel between those cities a bit faster at some point in the next 20 years.

It can’t, however, afford the money to electrify the main rail route between Leeds and Manchester, which was apparently a key part of unlocking economic growth in the North, the so-called Northern Powerhouse, of which local MP Jake Berry is now in charge.

It can, days later, afford CrossRail 2, to make it easier to get around London. Again.

But it can’t do anything to bring about the end of the Pacer train, the grotty train which is normally seen ploughing up and down the line between Blackpool and Burnley – and our nearest regular train service.

I think it’s safe to assume the likelihood of ever seeing regular train services on the East Lancashire Railway line again has diminished significantly in the last week.

We know the cost of re-opening the line would be £50m, and require a £500k a year subsidy to support the train service, although subsidies for rail services in the North of England are nothing new.

But as Rossendale Council’s infrastructure report points out, we remain the only part of Lancashire without a rail link – and it has the potential to hold our area back.