The Government has rejected plans to build a Skelmersdale rail station, in a decision which has been branded a “betrayal”.
West Lancs MP Rosie Cooper said the rejection was a “cruel joke” as she vowed to continue the long running battle to improve the town’s transport links. Lancashire County Council submitted a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) to the Department for Transport last year and also purchased the former Glenburn College site for £1 to be the location of the new facility.
It was hoped the line could link up to the Kirkby-Wigan line and potentially become part of the Merseyrail network, but those hopes were dashed by the DfT’s rejection. The Government department has turned down the plan and instead suggested a new bus link to join to the existing network, LancsLive reports.
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In its feedback to the submission, the Government suggested other options focussing on the existing Kirkby–Wigan rail line could improve connections to the town. These would require less infrastructure work and at a lower cost.
The county council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport said that work will continue to bring other transport improvements to the town, despite the setback to the plans. County Councillor Charlie Edwards, Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We’ll review the government’s feedback and look carefully at other possible plans for Skelmersdale.
“I know that local people will be disappointed at this news, but we’ll continue working hard to explore other options for public transport improvements. Improving the public transport network will help to make the town a more appealing place to live, work, visit and invest. By providing a high-quality sustainable public transport service, it reduces the need for some car journeys, which also reduces emissions and traffic levels.”
The concept of a reintroduction rail links in Skelmersdale was seen as being transformative for the town’s fortunes, enabling better links to jobs in cities like Liverpool and Manchester. It has been the subject of long-running campaigns and hopes were raised when Boris Johnson included the project in a list of pre-General Election promises in 2019.
Labour MP Ms Cooper accused the Government of failing its levelling up promises and vowed to keep up the battle. She said: “I am disgusted by the decision of the Department for Transport not to pursue the proposal for Skelmersdale Railway, rejecting Lancashire County Council’s business case that would have been revolutionary for the Town.
“During the 2019 election, the Tories repeatedly used Skelmersdale Rail as an example of how they will be ‘levelling up’ rail transport. Not just locally, but even on their national campaign website! To now completely turn their backs on Skelmersdale residents, is a cruel joke, a betrayal.
“It is insulting that the Government now suggest we should pursue improving the busses instead, at the same time as the Liverpool City Region are consulting on reducing the bus service to Liverpool to once an hour. Skelmersdale is one of the largest towns without a train station, why are we being neglected and ignored? Why is our station less important?
“Replacing the Skelmersdale Rail plan with a shuttle bus is simply not good enough. We are constantly hearing about rail improvements down south; we should be treated equally - levelled up even. I will not be giving up this fight and I will hold the Government and Department for Transport to account for this betrayal at every chance I get.
“The Transport Secretary and Rail Minister should come and see Skelmersdale themselves and I am offering them an open invitation to visit, the sooner the better. This is not the end, and we will keep fighting for a train station to finally be returned to Skelmersdale.”
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