Reinstatement of disused railway in Lancashire tabled

The section of the Ribble Valley line north of Blackburn was closed to passenger services in 1962 but remained open for freight. In 1994, services between Blackburn and Clitheroe were reinstated following a local campaign.

Now, Merriman has met with MPs for the Ribble Valley and Pendle, Nigel Evans and Andrew Stephenson, to discuss the reopening of the Clitheroe to Hellifield section of the line using funds from the cancelled northern legs of High Speed 2 (HS2).

The Ribble Valley line

Reopening of the line for passengers between Clitheroe and Hellifield would provide connections with the Settle-Carlisle line.

A Strategic Outline Business Case, funded by the government’s Restoring Your Railway fund, was submitted to the Department of Transport (DfT) for the reopening of the line in April 2021. It was put together by Stantec on behalf of Ribble Valley Borough Council.

Stantec’s report suggested it was clear a passenger service between Clitheroe and Hellifield (as an extension of existing Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe services) could be reinstated in the short-term with little or no need for additional infrastructure.

The report estimates the potential for 80,000 extra passengers a year to frequent the line if trains from Manchester Victoria to Clitheroe were extended to Hellifield.

A number of options were outline in Stantec’s report.

These included;

• Extending all Clitheroe-bound trains to Hellifield.
• Extend alternative Clitheroe trains to all stations up to Garsdale.
• Having two trains per hour to Clitheroe, with one every two hours to Garsdale.
• Two trains per hour to Clitheroe and one every two hours extending to Ribblehead.
• Two trains per hour to Clitheroe and one per hour extending to Settle Junction.

Campaigners want the line to be reopened along with stations at Chatburn, Rimington, Gisburn and Newsholme, with provision for trains from Clitheroe to run southwards to Leeds after arriving at Hellifield, rather than continuing north to Carlisle.

Evans said: “With the reallocation of High Speed 2 funding to other regional transport projects, now is the absolute perfect time to bring this important line back into regular service.

“It would open up a key route for tourists visiting the Ribble Valley and offer thousands of people a more sustainable and direct route to visit Yorkshire for sightseeing, work, school and more.

“This is a clear win win move and a real opportunity for Ribble Valley residents. I am confident ministers will see the many merits of this plan and I will continue to push for the full expansion of services.”

Stephenson said: “Passenger services on this line wouldn’t just benefit the Ribble Valley, but would provide a boost to a much wider area. I was encouraged by the discussion we had with the rail minister and will continue fighting for these services to be introduced.”

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