EAST Lancashire Railway vice-president Keith Whitmore says plans that would see the line sharing its route with conventional passenger services are “not a viable option”.
Rossendale Council’s bid for funding to develop its business case for the ‘City Valley Link’ – which would see regular rail services restored between Rawtenstall, Bury and Manchester for the first time since 1972 – was announced as one of 13 winners in the latest round of the Department for Transport’s Restoring Your Railway scheme.
The council says the plan would allow the ELR to run to a similar timetable to its present one and “would see the retention of the steam age stations and signalling with the role of volunteers protected”.
Mr Whitmore, who is also chairman of Greater Manchester Transport Heritage, told The RM that it had been made “quite clear” to the authority that such a proposal would not work. He added: “We either have a commuter railway or we have a heritage leisure railway.