Area
County of Lancashire, the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Cheshire East, Cheshire West & Chester, Cumberland, Halton, Warrington, and Westmorland & Furness, and the Metropolitan Districts of Bolton, Bury, Knowsley, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, St. Helens, Salford, Sefton, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and Wirral.Branch Meetings
Our next meeting will be our AGM on Saturday 8th February 2025 at Holiday Inn, Blackpool, across the road from Blackpool North station, we're aiming for a start time of 1200. We are pleased to say we have been able to secure a speaker from Network Rail, Chris Coleman who will present their plans for Manchester Oxford Road remodelling and take questions, we will keep the formal AGM business short as possible so we can make time for this. The meeting is not planned to run much beyond 1500. (Lunch will be taken from approximately 1300-1330)
The following branch committee meetings open to members are on Thursday 10th April and Saturday 7th June, venues have yet to be confirmed but we are looking at Runcorn station, the Merebrook in Bromborough and a venue in Kendal.
For further details of meetings, please contact either the chair, vice chair or secretary of Railfuture North West through the shared email address northwest at railfuture.org.uk.
Current campaigns
Railfuture have launched a Northern Powerhouse campaign for improved services that can be achieved now within current constraints, and that can be achieved in future through a coordinated investment programme, to turn the great Northern cities of Liverpool, Preston, Manchester, Sheffield, Bradford, Leeds and Hull into a single strategic economic entity linked by a fast high capacity rail network to realise the economic potential of the region as a global powerhouse.
Specific local campaigns include:
- Two trains per hour on the Mid-Cheshire line
- Re-opening the line between Skipton and Colne SELRAP. Also note the news here regarding the Governments announcement of study into re-opening.
- Re-opening of the Keswick Railway between Penrith and Keswick
- A new line and station to get the town of Skelmersdale back on the rail network
- A reliable enhanced service on the Wrexham-Bidston Line, a new station serving Deeside Industrial Park and the introduction of through trains to Liverpool as soon as suitable rolling stock becomes available.
- Daily passenger services between Clitheroe and Hellifield, probably to be achieved by the introduction of through services to Manchester that the Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line group wants to see
- Re-opening of the current freight only Northwich - Sandbach line, to include a new station at Middlewich. Following much hard work by Mid Cheshire Rail Users Association (MCRUA) and others, the Department for Transport is set to examine reopening the Mid Cheshire Rail Link (the current freight-only line from Sandbach to Northwich) with business leaders, following pressure from the Government’s deputy chief whip. A working group is set to be formed by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and officials from the DfT at the request of Paul Maynard, (previously rail minister), after lobbying from Tatton MP Esther McVey.
Branch Newsletter
Latest Rail North West to view or download PDF 1.2MB]See previous newsletters
Branch dashboard
See all North West branch documents etc here.Rail user groups
- Blackpool and Fylde Rail Users Association
- Chinley & Buxworth Transport Group
- Friends of Denton Station (no link presently)
- Friends of Eccles Station
- Friends of Goostrey Station
- Furness Line Action Group
- Goyt Valley Rail Users’ Association (Stockport)
- Lakes Line Rail User Group
- Lancaster, Morecambe & District Rail User Group (no link presently)
- Lancaster and Skipton Rail Users’ Group
- Friends of Littleborough Stations (Lancashire)
- Mid Cheshire Rail Users’ Association (MCRUA)
- North Cheshire Rail Users’ Group (NCRUG)
- Ormskirk, Preston and Southport Travellers Association (OPSTA)
- Friends of Reddish South Station
- Ribble Valley Rail
- Shrewsbury-Chester Rail Users’ Association
- Skipton-East Lancashire Railway Action Partnership (SELRAP) (reopening campaign)
- Wirral Transport Users’ Association
- Wrexham-Bidston Rail Users Association
Events
Railfuture and other regional and national events, including conferences and key campaign dates.Branch contacts
PLEASE NOTE THE BRANCH DOES NOT HAVE A MEDIA SPOKESPERSON AND IS UNABLE TO ANSWER MEDIA QUERIES.Trevor Bishop, Branch Chairman
4,Butterfield Close
Cheadle Hulme
Cheadle
Cheshire
SK8 7AE
Tel. M 0161 485 8426. Email: trevor.bishop at railfuture.org.uk
Christopher Norton, Branch Secretary
26 Handsworth Road,
Blackpool
FY1 2RQ
Tel: 01253 623338 Email: cjnblackpool at btinternet.com