Bring the Railway back to Rossendale

I have the privilege of representing two proud areas, Rossendale and Darwen. They share a great deal, but in one respect they could hardly be more different. From Darwen, you can step onto a train and reach Manchester every half hour. From Rossendale, you cannot catch a train at all. That contrast sits at the heart of why I am fighting for the City Valley Rail Link.

Rossendale is the only district in Lancashire, and the only one in the whole of the North, without a commuter train service. It is barely fifteen miles from Manchester, yet it has been left off the map while neighbouring towns, Darwen among them, have kept their connection for generations. Rather than a quirk of geography, this was a choice, and it’s one which we have the power to change.

What makes it so achievable is that the line is already there. We are not asking for a new railway to be carved across the valley. The track runs from Rawtenstall through Ramsbottom and Bury and on towards the same Manchester Victoria that Darwen’s trains already serve. It carries trains every week. It simply needs bringing back into everyday use, which is what keeps the cost far below that of building a line from scratch.

Today that track is home to the East Lancashire Railway, the heritage steam and diesel service that draws around 200,000 visitors a year. We are not trying to get rid of that. The plan is for commuter trains to run alongside the heritage service, sharing the line rather than replacing it. The heritage railway stands to gain from this, with better maintained track and a steady stream of new visitors from across Greater Manchester. I will only support a plan that protects it, and I want to shape that plan with the people who have given so much to keep it running. The East Lancashire Heritage Railway have not engaged with these proposals, but their cooperation is vital to any future commuter line. I want to work positively with them to ensure the future of the Heritage line while also providing the transportation Rossendale needs.

For Rossendale, the difference would be felt every day. Almost a quarter of working-age residents already travel into Manchester for work, most of them by road. A reliable rail journey of around forty-four minutes would open up jobs, training and opportunity, and make the area far more attractive to employers. It would ease the daily crawl on the M66 and the valley roads, take hundreds of thousands of car journeys off them each year, and clear the air a little in the process. We would have an open conversation with the families who live closest to the line as the plans take shape.

The timing could hardly be better. The government is rebuilding the railways and has promised a fairer deal for smaller towns. Lancashire is writing its transport plan for the years ahead right now. A scheme this far developed, on a line that already exists, belongs in that plan, and yet the Lancashire Combined Authority’s transport implementation plan was published in May without any mention of the City Valley Rail Link proposal.

My job is to see that both of the towns I represent are well served by rail, with Darwen’s link valued and protected, and Rossendale’s restored at last. When local people were asked, 86% backed the idea. They should be listened to. The track is here. The need is clear. What is missing is the will to use what we already have, and to give Rossendale the same kind of connection that Darwen has rightly enjoyed for generations.