HS2: Lancashire politicians draw up rail revamp wish list

Train drivers currently exchange tokens to use the single line from Leyland's Midge Hall station, an MP says

Lancashire's politicians are lining up rail schemes they would like to see funded with the cash saved from cancelling the HS2 Manchester link.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the scrapping of the high-speed rail line on Wednesday.

He pledged to spend "every single penny" of the £36bn saved from the project on "hundreds" of improvements.

South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher said she wanted some of it to be used to reopen Midge Hall station in Leyland.

It has been closed for over 60 years but trains still stops at the disused boarding point.

She said it was "absolute madness to have what is potentially the only station in the country where trains stop at the platform, but passengers can't get on and off".

"It's a piece of single track [at that point], so the driver has to stop to exchange a token at Midge Hall, then they go down the single track and stop again at Rufford to hand the token back," the Tory MP added.

'Quick wins'

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she would also be pushing for removing the buffers at Ormskirk to allow direct trains to Liverpool and reinstating the Burscough Curve "to allow direct services between Southport and Preston, without having to change at Wigan".

Mr Sunak explained that the so-called "Network North" element of the new funding pot would be used to support a raft of initiatives.

The blueprint is light on detail about the railway upgrades Lancashire might expect but the county was mentioned as a beneficiary of a £2.5bn fund "to transform local transport in 14 rural counties, smaller cities and towns in every part of the North outside the big city regions".

The prime minister has promised money will be reallocated in the north of England

Labour opposition group leader at Lancashire County Council, Azhar Ali, has argued there would be a number of "quick wins" in the county.

"We desperately need investment to reopen the Poulton to Fleetwood link, we need the electrification of the route from Liverpool, via Preston, up to Leeds and we need the Colne to Skipton line reinstating.

"If I wanted to go from Pendle to Newcastle, I'd have to get a car or bus to Skipton, then a train to Leeds and change again for one to Newcastle - it would take probably four hours to get there.

"We also want the Metro link extension from Bury to Rawtenstall so we have got better transport links from the east of the county through to Greater Manchester."

He also pointed out that Skelmersdale did not have a railway station.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]