“Hopes for New Valley Station”

[from the Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 30th March 2013]

Slaithwaite Station

Last day of former Slaithwaite Station in  1968

THIS week has marked 50 years since the Beeching Report led to rural  train stations shutting. Local railway expert Prof Paul Salveson tells ANDREW HIRST the impact it had on the Huddersfield area and the ongoing problems in  trying to turn that around.

THE Beeching Report in effect wiped out the Colne Valley’s local rail  links.

Transport expert Prof Paul Salveson is in no doubt that the impact was  devastating – but another Huddersfield line that should have been axed got an  11th-hour reprieve and has led the way nationwide in how a community can rally  around its rail line.

And one of the closed Beeching stations – Slaithwaite – re-opened in December  1982 to buck the trend.

Prof Salveson said:

“Beeching wiped out the Colne Valley’s rail links with  the closure of Slaithwaite, Longwood and Milnsbridge and Golcar. Marsden survived with just a handful of trains.”

But Huddersfield had lost other stations long before Beeching.

Prof Salveson said:

“The Meltham branch had closed to passengers as early as  1949 while Holmfirth trains ceased in 1959.

“If the Holmfirth branch had survived into the 1970s it would today be a  prospering part of West Yorkshire’s rail network.

“Instead, it’s a town that’s throttled by traffic and the buses get stuck as  much as the cars and lorries.

“Even the Meltham branch might have done reasonably well as the ‘western end’   of a cross-county local network. The really tragic losses were the local  stations in the Colne Valley. We’ve got Slaithwaite back thanks to Metro, but we  still need a station to serve Golcar and Milnsbridge.”

GLAM Trac – Golcar Longwood and Milnsbridge Transport Campaign – is  organising a petition to get Metro to look seriously into a new station.

Prof Salveson – who is also a Kirklees councillor – added:

“As a local  councillor for Golcar and Milnsbridge I believe passionately that a new station  serving these communities would be a catalyst for economic  regeneration.

“Beeching was wrong in closing them and Slaithwaite, which now carries a  quarter of a million passengers each year, is clear evidence that people want to  use local train services more than ever.

“The aim now is for a single station which would be convenient for both  Golcar and Milnsbridge.

“Milnsbridge needs a shot in the arm and a railway station would be the  catalyst for wider regeneration.

“It’s no accident that Slaithwaite and Marsden are doing relatively well  economically while Milnsbridge still struggles.

“They have their own stations yet Milnsbridge doesn’t but it could come back  into its own as a thriving local centre if the right infrastructure was  provided.”

He added:

“The big challenge facing local rail services is having enough room  for expansion in the face of an increasing number of fast services on the  TransPennine route. “Government announcements on electrification are very  welcome but that won’t solve the capacity problems on its own. There is a need  for additional track capacity to accommodate a half-hourly stopping service  which would call at a new station for Golcar/Milnsbridge, freight and special  passenger trains.

“A lot of people move into the Colne Valley because there are good rail links  with Leeds and Manchester and would certainly use a station serving the  Milnsbridge and Golcar areas.”

Prof Salveson added:

“At least one operator wants to run trains from  Huddersfield to London and under current plans it would be impossible.

“It’s crazy to invest in a railway but only provide for limited capacity and  no room for expansion.”

Read more: Examiner http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2013/03/30/how-beeching-s-rail-axe-affected-huddersfield-s-stations-86081-33086403/#ixzz2P2avmQtr

This entry was posted in Golcar/Milnsbridge station campaign and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *