Rail North West
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Rail North West A Class 142 at Knutsford station on the Mid Cheshire line taken in 2014. Will the line ever see the promised doubling of services that the passenger footfall numbers suggest would be right. Photo Arthur Thomson Network Rail Delays New Services The Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association standards mean that any change has to (MCRUA) notes in its latest newsletter be re-assessed and there are no dates that the promised 2 trains per hour on the yet for any such assessment to take line between Chester and Manchester place. has still to materialise, some 18 months after it was due to be introduced in Northern has a contract with the DfT to December 2017. They have learned that operate two trains an hour on the Mid Network Rail won’t allow Northern to run Cheshire Line, and hourly trains on any additional passenger trains on the Sundays, starting in December 2017. line due to “increased risk at level Network Rail is controlled by the DfT so crossings,” thought to be mostly MCRUA thinks it’s bizarre and occupation crossings used by farms. unacceptable that they are preventing Northern from delivering on their contract. MCRUA are trying to find out the detail of Network Rail claims that it is becoming this strange and surprising claim, but 'passenger-focused'. MCRUA thinks it initial information is that tighter safety needs to demonstrate this here and have Newsletter of the North West Branch1 of Railfuture — Summer 2019 Rail North West 2 Summer 2019 raised this issue with local MPs Esther Manchester via Stockport. Indeed, for a time McVey and Mike Amesbury at face-to-face the fare from Knutsford to Metrolink City was meetings and encouraged members who less than the fare from Knutsford to live along the Mid Cheshire Line to contact Manchester via Stockport. Since the recent their MPs to demand that the promised train fare increase however, the through fares are service is delivered in full. simply an add-on of the fare to Altrincham and the fare from Altrincham to Metrolink Meanwhile they noted a recent significant zones 1 to 4. So the fares to Metrolink increase in through fares to Metrolink from Zones 1 to 4 (the equivalent of Metrolink the Mid Cheshire line, and have raised the City) are now significantly more than the issue with Northern. Through fares from the fare to Manchester via Stockport. Mid Cheshire Line to Metrolink stations have existed since Metrolink opened in 1992, From Knutsford the Anytime Return Fare to although they have never been adequately Metrolink Zones 1 to 4 is now £13.60 publicised. The through fares to “Metrolink whereas the return fare to Manchester City” changing at Altrincham onto Metrolink Central Zone via Stockport is £10.70, a have previously been similar to the fares to significant difference. Halton Curve Services Begin At Last NCRUG members at Chester station await the departure of one of the first of the new Transport for Wales services to Liverpool via the Halton Curve.Photo courtesy Charles Allen, NCRUG. The North Cheshire Rail user Group May timetable change as Cedric Green (NCRUG) were celebrating the arrival of writes “The day has arrived when we can services over the Halton Curve with the travel from Chester, (and occasionally Rail North West 3 Summer 2019 Wrexham), directly to Liverpool Lime reasons but also to relieve traffic Street via Helsby and Frodsham with congestion and ease travel across the connections southwards at Runcorn and Runcorn Gap. The Mersey Gateway to Liverpool John Lennon Airport from bridge already helps and NCRUG have Liverpool South Parkway. Three cheers never disputed the need for both road and for that – one cheer for each decade of rail improvements across the extremely the NCRUG’s existence! busy Runcorn Gap to assist the local economy and employment prospects. As previously advised it is an hourly service, (although not clockface), and will The good news continues. The start of take approximately 38 minutes from services, as outlined above, are only the Helsby to Lime Street, (24 minutes to first step in improving connectivity in the LSP) and approximately 34 minutes from area and beyond. As patronage builds it Frodsham to Lime Street, (20 minutes to is intended to extend and/or introduce LSP). Journey times vary slightly but new services along the North Wales apart from the 20.30 Weekday and Coast and to Shrewsbury and Cardiff Saturday departure from Chester which, opening up new journey opportunities for some inexplicable reason takes 60 between Liverpool, Llandudno, Holyhead minutes from Chester to Lime Street, they and South Wales. are within the range of 47/51 minutes.” A side effect of these new services is the NCRUG have drawn attention to the fact impact they will have on car parking at that an 18xx departure from Chester and stations on the route. This is an issue it’s 19xx return from Lime Street are which NCRUG have flagged up to the missing and await to hear from Transport authorities and hope it will be dealt with for Wales on this omission. An earlier first quickly. Otherwise, local roads could be train out of Chester is also required to clogged up and/or a suppressed demand accommodate morning departures from created for rail services. Improvements the Airport and again TfW are aware of have already taken place at Frodsham but this and, NCRUG hope, it can be quickly much more needs to be done both there remedied. The Airport demand did play a and at Helsby. NCRUG has suggested significant part in building the Business many times that the unused parking Case for opening the Halton Curve so the available on the Ellesmere Port/Helsby service should serve the significant line could provide over 120 spaces but numbers of morning departures from the only if there is a useable train service on Airport. the line. This is an on-going project for NCRUG. A Sunday service roughly follows the same service pattern as the Meantime NCRUG are celebrating the Monday/Saturday service but the first huge achievement which the opening of train out of Chester is at 08.31 and Lime the Halton Curve represents and gives Street at 09.49. There is no Sunday them much encouragement for pursuing service direct to or from Wrexham. other projects for improving travel within their area of activity. They have learnt Fares, as previously mentioned, are lessons from their efforts so far and are competitive and NCRUG expects them to proud of their successes to date – but entice people out of their cars and onto onward and upward is their motto. the trains not only for environmental Rail North West 4 Summer 2019 Breaking the Century on the Bentham Line A newly refurbished train at Bentham Station, Photo courtesy LASRUG The new Bentham Line timetable Connections at Carnforth, to and from which came into operation on Sunday the Furness Line, have been greatly 19th May brought 12 further services to improved to reflect the increase in the the route each week and takes the number of passengers travelling total to 106 trains. These are in between North and West Yorkshire addition to new services which were and Cumbrian coast destinations. introduced on the line last May. Residents in the more rural communities on the route are taking In summary, there are now eight trains advantage of the new services, in each direction Monday to Saturday reflecting both the interest in new and five each way on Sundays. An journey opportunities and the wish for additional twelve journeys have been ‘greener’ travel options. provided, an 11.3% increase, compared to the previous timetable. Passengers on the line will also see an increase in the number of refurbished The additional trains are the 07:20 and more comfortable trains over the Leeds to Lancaster, arriving at 09:13, coming months, as the classic ‘Pacer’ and returning from Lancaster at 09:41 units are withdrawn from service in the with an 11:38 arrival in Leeds. North. Rail North West 5 Summer 2019 Gerald Townson, chairman of the One other significant improvement is Bentham Line added, “the new the last train from Lancaster at 21:30 timetable allows more opportunities for now makes a connection at Skipton work, education and leisure travel with the last train to Leeds, arriving along the Bentham Line and beyond there at 23:38. Rod Tickner, vice- with a new range of connections chairman of the Bentham Line who is possible at Lancaster and Leeds for based in Keighley said, “this makes journeys throughout the UK.” the later service very useful for longer days out, for those living in the Aire Valley”. STORM Campaign Against More Service Reductions For the past twelve months, the local There is only one loop in the up stations of Castleton and Moston have direction which, being at Brewery had their regular half hourly service to Junction, is only a mile and a half from Manchester Victoria interrupted by an Victoria station, and two down loops, hour's gap at 1645. Now with the one of which is also at Brewery May 2019 timetable they have lost Junction with the second at Castleton, another train out of their regular some nine miles further on. All three service, this time at 1345. The reason loops are passed for passenger trains. is that Network Rail is unable to time Trains to and from the Copy Pit line at two particular freight train paths Todmorden do help in timetabling slow without these gaps being introduced. trains among the faster services.