https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/n ... ink-study/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It was reported on a Sunday morning politics show that Grayling is in favour of reintroducing the line, so hopefully he gets it going before he leaves his job through being rubbish at it.

It would be a huge boost to all our Yorkshire clarets and me who has family over the border.

It'd be good to be able to get to Turf Moor on the replacement bus service!

You lot are lucky.

If I wanted to use public transport to get to the Turf from where I live I wouldn't be able to do it.

Last bus would leave Lancaster long before the earliest train from Preston got in!

Where will the Border be - Earby?

Will be amazed if the Tories spend that amount of money round here tbh. Might be better concentrating on running our existing train services properly. The Northern Rail strikes on a Saturday are beyond a joke now.

Lancasterclaret wrote:You lot are lucky.

If I wanted to use public transport to get to the Turf from where I live I wouldn't be able to do it.

Last bus would leave Lancaster long before the earliest train from Preston got in!

Can't you cycle to kendal - train to preston - train to Burnley - walk to ground and then repeat after a skinful.


Stop being lazy, probably only cost about £40 as well

I wouldn't get your hopes up. Can't see how the business case would stack up. Unless Drax or Peel holdings are willing to contribute towards the capital costs. They've been pushing this in order to reduce the time taken to get biomass from Liverpool to Drax in Selby...

Chris Grayling, the ultimate King Midas in reverse.

jrgbfc wrote:Will be amazed if the Tories spend that amount of money round here tbh. Might be better concentrating on running our existing train services properly. The Northern Rail strikes on a Saturday are beyond a joke now.

Aye, and lets face it, they arent really affecting anyone with any sway on the decision they are striking about. Just ******* off the punters.

Can't you cycle to kendal - train to preston - train to Burnley - walk to ground and then repeat after a skinful.

I could cycle to Burnley from here!

But it would be a long day, especially over the trough in winter!

Transpennine wrote:I wouldn't get your hopes up. Can't see how the business case would stack up. Unless Drax or Peel holdings are willing to contribute towards the capital costs. They've been pushing this in order to reduce the time taken to get biomass from Liverpool to Drax in Selby...

The Drax link is one that has been touted a lot but i’m not sure how shifting it from Selby via Skipton, Colne, Preston will be any quicker. Most of it will be single line presumably and I can’t really imagine goods trains getting much speed up. Unless the current situation is finding space in timetables on the Trans pennine route rather than the time it takes.

The strikes are a different issue but ultimately Northern rail are trying to implement Driver Only trains under the instruction of the DfT. It is set out in their franchise agreement. Northern rail get all the stick but its the DfT who are insisting on this policy. But I'm not getting into that...

jrgbfc wrote:Will be amazed if the Tories spend that amount of money round here tbh. Might be better concentrating on running our existing train services properly. The Northern Rail strikes on a Saturday are beyond a joke now.

Already spent nearly a million looking at it.

Only need to put 7 miles of track back down.

It doesn't look like they can put the bypass in to cure Colne's traffic so this could be the next best option.

Is the old track bed still there and completely unused Quick?

TheFamilyCat wrote:The Drax link is one that has been touted a lot but i’m not sure how shifting it from Selby via Skipton, Colne, Preston will be any quicker. Most of it will be single line presumably and I can’t really imagine goods trains getting much speed up. Unless the current situation is finding space in timetables on the Trans pennine route rather than the time it takes.

Yes you're probably right, it will be down to capacity rather than journey time. Although I think it can take about 9 hours now.
Either way, unless there is a commitment of external private funding towards the costs, it won't happen. Imagine if the Gvt approved the scheme and spent £250m on the provisio that Drax would use it and then they decided to import their biomass from Hul instead of Liverpool...

Never mind a new track for peasants in the North, we've got a £15bn line in London to finish yet.

Lancasterclaret wrote:Is the old track bed still there and completely unused Quick?

Not entirely sure but here's the website of the people that have been campaigning for years.
http://selrap.org.uk/SR1_1_project.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's 12 miles of track not 7.

Lancasterclaret wrote:Is the old track bed still there and completely unused Quick?

Removal of a number of bridges along the old route Lancaster m8 is a problem

The government have put aside a lot of money for new railways in the next 5 years so there's every chance. A lot of pressure has been put on them about all the spending down south so there's a chance.

Its a fantastic walk out of Skipton where the old line was, runs just behind the Tempest Arms from memory

Yep, it's a good walk to (or from) Cafe Cargo in Foulridge. From there through to Colne it gets a bit hairy as the track is overgrown and is a swamp in places.

Edit - this is a view of the now missing bridge in Foulridge: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/fo ... dex4.shtml

Don’t we normally sort some EU funding to get the things built in the north that the government aren’t interested in?

Theres a few things been built in the way as well. I can't see theres a chance this will happen.

Lancasterclaret wrote:I could cycle to Burnley from here!

But it would be a long day, especially over the trough in winter!

Walk- you’ve done it before!

martin_p wrote:Don’t we normally sort some EU funding to get the things built in the north that the government aren’t interested in?

How come it isn't running then if the EU normally sorts it ?

Has the Odsal chord bridge been completed and made a difference to any trains? I was hoping the train from Burnley to Manchester could end up in Piccadilly eventually for getting to London easier.


https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds/old ... completes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lancasterclaret wrote:You lot are lucky.

If I wanted to use public transport to get to the Turf from where I live I wouldn't be able to do it.

Last bus would leave Lancaster long before the earliest train from Preston got in!

I live two miles away and I can't get home from 7:45 p.m. kick offs by public transport.

ClaretTony wrote:I live two miles away and I can't get home from 7:45 p.m. kick offs by public transport.

You’re lucky it’s only a 2 mile walk then!

You lucky lot at least some of you can hitch a lift home meanwhile I don’t get home until the next day pigging day

ClaretTony wrote:I live two miles away and I can't get home from 7:45 p.m. kick offs by public transport.

Burnley and Pendle still refusing to push back the last X43 / lay another on?

Quickenthetempo wrote:Has the Odsal chord bridge been completed and made a difference to any trains? I was hoping the train from Burnley to Manchester could end up in Piccadilly eventually for getting to London easier.


https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds/old ... completes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes , and sort of
There are no through trains from Burnley but can now change at man Victoria and get a train to Piccadilly , which may or may not be quicker than the tram !

dushanbe wrote:Theres a few things been built in the way as well. I can't see theres a chance this will happen.

Earby station area has been built over with warehouses \ units which obstruct the track bed , I think. There is a dual carriageway across the line of the railway in colne and possbly some other smaller area where land has been sold \ leased and some development done. What the terms for getting it back may be, I dont know.

Quickenthetempo wrote:Has the Odsal chord bridge been completed and made a difference to any trains? I was hoping the train from Burnley to Manchester could end up in Piccadilly eventually for getting to London easier.


https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds/old ... completes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's has been completed and the plan is to run the trains through to the airport. However that can't be done until platforms 15&16 are built at Piccadilly as there's no capacity. They're waiting for Mr Grayling to approve platforms 15&16... Still waiting.

ZizkovClaret wrote:Burnley and Pendle still refusing to push back the last X43 / lay another on?

They moved it three minutes earlier

ClaretTony wrote:They moved it three minutes earlier

Tossers! Clearly so they can ensure the return journey reaches queensgate before Midnight. I was shocked by how poorly served the Manchester Road area is served outside of peak hours these days. I know im spoilt over here but it surprised me

ZizkovClaret wrote:Tossers! Clearly so they can ensure the return journey reaches queensgate before Midnight. I was shocked by how poorly served the Manchester Road area is served outside of peak hours these days. I know im spoilt over here but it surprised me

X43 is excellent during the day but stops far too early although you can get back from Manchester any night at 11

ClaretTony wrote:X43 is excellent during the day but stops far too early although you can get back from Manchester any night at 11

Not recommended after a skinful though! Its a long journey with a full bladder!

Transpennine wrote:I wouldn't get your hopes up. Can't see how the business case would stack up. Unless Drax or Peel holdings are willing to contribute towards the capital costs. They've been pushing this in order to reduce the time taken to get biomass from Liverpool to Drax in Selby...

Drax stops burning coal next week. They are pushing the bio mass. We use the ash to make blocks with, so a big issue where I work, bio mass ash is a pain in the arse to work with.
They claim it's better as trees are renewable.....
Completely ignoring the fact that chopping down trees, burning them and the carbon footprint of shipping the wood to the UK....
Completely ignoring the fact that these 100 year old oaks, will take 100 years to replace, so however many thousands of acres they chop down, it will require land 100 times larger to feed the furnaces on a renewable basis.
It's typical green energy trying to look good, when in fact the damage is far greater, in order to achieve emission levels set by green house commitments.
It's all ********.

ZizkovClaret wrote:Not recommended after a skinful though! Its a long journey with a full bladder!

I found that out the hard way a few weeks ago. Thought I'd get the last bus back at 3am after a night out I was desperate for a leak before we were even out of Manchester! Ended up lasting as far as Rawenstall where I had to jump off and then get a taxi the rest of the way home.

Apparently this can all be done for £100m. Yet the proposed reopening of Crosshills Station was shelved as that was going to cost £23m. Just have a look at Google Earth along the old line and see how much infrastructure is needed. Skipton by pass as well as Colne by pass to cross. River Aire to cross. Numerous other bridges no longer there. Industrial units built on the track bed. No station at Earby. Etc etc. It's pie in the sky dreamt up by a bunch of people with no sense of reality. Oh and by the way it can all be up and running in 2020. That's next year by the way.

Claretincraven wrote:Apparently this can all be done for £100m. Yet the proposed reopening of Crosshills Station was shelved as that was going to cost £23m. Just have a look at Google Earth along the old line and see how much infrastructure is needed. Skipton by pass as well as Colne by pass to cross. River Aire to cross. Numerous other bridges no longer there. Industrial units built on the track bed. No station at Earby. Etc etc. It's pie in the sky dreamt up by a bunch of people with no sense of reality. Oh and by the way it can all be up and running in 2020. That's next year by the way.

It must have a chance or they wouldn’t waste a million quid reviewing it. Bridges are quite easy to do these days with the concrete slabs just getting craned in. Does Earby need a full station? Anyway let's see.

Quickenthetempo wrote:It must have a chance or they wouldn’t waste a million quid reviewing it. Bridges are quite easy to do these days with the concrete slabs just getting craned in. Does Earby need a full station? Anyway let's see.

Getting across Skipton Bypass and Earby etc a bit more than craning in a few concrete slabs ffs

This isn't something easy like Brexit by the sound of it!

Quickenthetempo wrote:It must have a chance or they wouldn’t waste a million quid reviewing it. Bridges are quite easy to do these days with the concrete slabs just getting craned in. Does Earby need a full station? Anyway let's see.

Does Earby need a full station? So what do the residents of Earby or Barlick do if they want to get to a Skipton? Drive to Colne and get on a train there maybe? Or perhaps they will just drive straight to Skipton like they do now.

I know somebody local who worked for Chris Grayling until recently, was always in his ear about it and gave him viable costings.

Oh, and I think you'll find the Morecambe(Settle) line already crosses the Skipton bypass.

uni_queue wrote:Yes , and sort of
There are no through trains from Burnley but can now change at man Victoria and get a train to Piccadilly , which may or may not be quicker than the tram !

It's quicker to walk lol

Claretincraven wrote:Apparently this can all be done for £100m. Yet the proposed reopening of Crosshills Station was shelved as that was going to cost £23m. Just have a look at Google Earth along the old line and see how much infrastructure is needed. Skipton by pass as well as Colne by pass to cross. River Aire to cross. Numerous other bridges no longer there. Industrial units built on the track bed. No station at Earby. Etc etc. It's pie in the sky dreamt up by a bunch of people with no sense of reality. Oh and by the way it can all be up and running in 2020. That's next year by the way.

This is only at the feasibility stage. In terms of costs, the feasibility will always show the lowest possible cost of the scheme and will focus on a) is it possible? b) what are the benefits? If they were to include a realistic figure at this stage it would never be able to gain the political support required. You could probably treble that £100m figure by the time it ever came to the construction phase.

Bosscat wrote:Getting across Skipton Bypass and Earby etc a bit more than craning in a few concrete slabs ffs

Maybe you could post pictures of the sites the bridges would have to go using Google street maps and then we might have a better idea.

dougcollins wrote:I know somebody local who worked for Chris Grayling until recently, was always in his ear about it and gave him viable costings.

Oh, and I think you'll find the Morecambe(Settle) line already crosses the Skipton bypass.

It does. On a completely different alignment and level to the Colne line.

Quickenthetempo wrote:Maybe you could post pictures of the sites the bridges would have to go using Google street maps and then we might have a better idea.

Personally I wouldn't care to but if its so important do it yourself .
Like claret in craven says its a completely different line (Elevation and direction) so where you are thinking you could use the Skipton to Settle line as the old Colne line goes near to Carleton and through Elslack I've no idea ha ha ha

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/feat ... ndex.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;