CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS!

Photo: Daily Record

Calling all photographers and video makers! Anyone fancy getting up early on a couple of Saturday mornings? Virgin trains are currently running an ECS (empty coaching stock) train from Crewe to Holyhead on Saturday mornings between now and the 7th September. The train is timed to be in Sandbach around 8.10am and in Middlewich at around 8.35. I'm saying 'around', although Network Rail's working timetable gives exact timings at 8.10 and thirty seconds and 8.35 and thirty seconds. How they can be so precise is a mystery. The train, apparently, stops in Middlewich for about one minute (for 'operational reasons') and then makes its way to Northwich. MRLC would love to have some photos and/or videos of this train, as we can show the line being used for passenger trains in our publicity (some people still refuse to believe it happens). Anyone fancy having a go at railway photography? If you do take any pictures/videos and send them to us we will, of course, as usual, give full acknowledgments and use them also on the Middlewich Diary. The fact that the train is running every Saturday between now and September gives opportunities to photograph it at various points on the line between Sandbach and Northwich.
Dave Roberts, Middlewich Rail Link Campaign.

NETWORK RAIL WORKING TIMETABLE

NETWORK RAIL REGIONAL URBAN MARKET STUDY

Network Rail has been seeking comments on its draft  Regional Urban Market Study which considers ways in which the railway network can be improved and developed in the future.
It will come as no surprise that plans to re-open the Middlewich line and provide a new station in Middlewich fit NR's aspirations like a glove.

Here's a link to the draft version of the study on the Network Rail site:

REGIONAL URBAN MARKET STUDY

As you will read in the comments (see below) which we have just sent to Network Rail, both Cheshire East Council and Fiona Bruce MP are still working hard on our behalf to convince Network Rail  of the simple truth of the matter - that the Middlewich scheme is affordable, viable and vital for the future development of Middlewich, Cheshire (both East and West), and the North-West Region.
Unfortunately it is no longer possible to send comments on the draft study direct to Network Rail, but if you have any comments to make please send them here to MRLC (stationcampaign@aol.com) and we will ensure that they are included in a letter we will be sending in the near future to Richard Eccles, Network Rail's Director of Network Strategy and Planning  - once again stressing the urgent necessity for NR to join in meaningful discussions with the local transport authority, Cheshire East, and other interested parties.

OFFICIAL MRLC COMMENTS:

I am writing this comment in my capacity of Chairman of the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign (MRLC), having read with interest the draft version of the Regional Urban Market Study.

MRLC, which has been in existence since 1992 and is run under the auspices of the Mid-Cheshire Rail Users' Association (MCRUA) campaigns for the re-opening to passengers of the Sandbach-Northwich Branch line, together with the building of a new station at Middlewich.

Our local MP, Fiona Bruce is a keen supporter of the Middlewich scheme and, earlier this year, presented a parliamentary petition on the subject.

She followed this up by writing to the Rt Hon. Simon Burns, Minister of State at the Department of Transport pointing out the merits of the scheme and the undoubted benefits it would bring to Middlewich, the County of Cheshire and the North-West region.

This was followed up by letters making similar points from Cheshire East Council and ourselves.

The Railway Consultancy Report, commissioned by MRLC and published in 2009, clearly shows the viability of the scheme, as did the earlier Chapman Report, also commissioned by the campaign. 

Middlewich in general, and the immediate vicinity of the proposed new station in particular, contains many potential commuters who work in the Manchester area and are currently obliged to travel by car into the city on the A556, due to the lack of a train service.

The scheme also, we should point out, falls within the criteria stated in the introduction to your draft document, in that Middlewich is less than 50 miles from Manchester (less than half that distance, in fact) and, as the Railway Consultancy report shows, has the potential to generate a considerable number of journeys daily, both by commuters and leisure-seekers.

The scheme's cost/benefit ratio is 5:1, far in excess of what is needed for the scheme to merit serious consideration.

Fiona Bruce recently wrote to Richard Eccles reminding him of the existence of the Middlewich scheme and pointing out that it fits in perfectly with the aims of the long-term planning of the network in order to achieve, 'economic growth, reduced carbon emissions and improved quality of life for communities and individuals.'

Cheshire East Council, as our local transport authority, is very keen to see the Middlewich scheme go ahead and will, no doubt have made its own representations to you on the subject.

We would submit that the Middlewich scheme should be seriously considered by network planners, as it has so much potential to help NR achieve its aims as set out in the draft  Regional Urban Market Study.

Dave Roberts

Chairman
Middlewich Rail Link Campaign

CAMPAIGN UPDATE, JUNE 2013: MRLC WELCOMES NEW LOCAL TRANSPORT BODY

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

The following is the text of a Press Release issued by MRLC on 21st June 2013:

Mayor of Middlewich Bernice Walmsley, Fiona Bruce MP and Councillor Mike Parsons discuss the creation of the new transport body for the region.

The Middlewich Rail Link Campaign welcomes creation of new transport group, ‘The Cheshire & Warrington Local Transport Body’

Members of the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign (MRLC) have welcomed the creation of a new transport group with delegated powers from the Department of Transport to make strategic decisions aimed at improving transport links across the County of Cheshire and beyond.

Speaking two weeks after attending the first meeting of the Cheshire & Warrington Local Transport Body (CWLTB) Fiona Bruce MP said, ‘the stated aim of the CWLTB is “to improve transport infrastructure to secure significant connectivity gains in the support of economic growth and prosperity” in the region.

‘This would be one of the key benefits of opening up Middlewich Station for passengers and the MRLC is pressing the CWLTB to ensure that this important project is on its high priority list.’

Bernice Walmsley, Mayor of Middlewich, said at the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign’s latest meeting at the end of  May, ‘I welcome the creation of this new body and hope it will result in the provision of the transport links Middlewich needs and deserves.’

Cheshire East Councillor Mike Parsons said, ‘this scheme would, if applied properly, satisfy all the criteria we need to engage Network Rail in full commitment.

'With Pete Waterman on the board of the new body and also Patron of the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign, the group is optimistic that the importance of improving rail connectivity across the region, and the part the Middlewich Scheme will play in achieving this, will be recognised.’

Dave Roberts, Chairman of MRLC, said, ‘this is a real and genuine breakthrough. Until now we’ve been dealing with the Department of Transport in London which, though sympathetic to our arguments and always willing to offer advice, clearly had its priorities centred on London and the South East when it came to rail development. This new body, which is able to make strategic decisions here in the North-West and, crucially, will also be able to secure funding and investment for schemes such as ours, is a major step forward and we are sure that with the involvement of Fiona Bruce MP and Pete Waterman in our plans, we now stand a better chance than ever of bringing back vitally important rail services to Middlewich, greatly benefitting not only this town, but the County and the wider regional area.’

Editor's note: This Press Release  may be freely copied and distributed as long as it

is not altered in any way.

Please credit the text to Middlewich Rail Link Campaign and the photo to Fiona Bruce MP. Thank you.

RE-OPEN MIDDLEWICH RAILWAY STATION BANNER

Coming soon to an event near you: This banner, commissioned by MRLC and funded by our parent body, the Mid-Cheshire Rail Users' Association, will soon be a familiar sight at events in and around Middlewich.
The banner carries a simple and straightforward message which can't be repeated too often, as well as the
address for the website you're looking at now.
A striking and attention-grabbing way of letting people know we're here and working hard to bring this vitally
important facility back to our town.
We're grateful to Dave Thompson, Middlewich Town Council's Events Manager, for his help in getting this banner made.

UPDATE: The MRLC Banner makes its much-delayed public debut at the 2013 Middlewich FAB Festival.
Watch out for it at the main festival site on Market Field.

NEW TRANSPORT BODY FOR CHESHIRE AND WARRINGTON

The following is taken from Warrington Borough Council's website.

Many thanks to Cllr Peter Hirst for bringing it to our attention.

Powerful new transport body will manage millions of pounds’ worth of investment

Published Wednesday, 22nd May 2013

WARRINGTON Borough Council has joined forces with neighbouring councils to establish a powerful new decision-making body to oversee the area’s future investment in transport.

The Cheshire and Warrington Local Transport Body (CWLTB) has the power to invest in schemes that support economic growth and regeneration across the area.

The new body, made up of Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Warrington Borough Council, has been given devolved decision-making powers by the Department for Transport.

CWLTB is a publicly-accountable body with a single strategic objective: “To improve transport infrastructure to secure significant connectivity gains in the support of economic growth and prosperity”.

First meeting – public and media welcome

The first meeting will take place on Thursday 23 May at Congleton Town Hall at 3.30pm. Members of the public and press are welcome to attend.

It is estimated that the Cheshire and Warrington area will need over a billion pounds’ worth of investment over the next twenty to thirty years in order to meet the sustainable needs of its communities. Funding for the CWLTB will be drawn from the public and private sectors.

The Department for Transport has already committed £21.8m for the period 2015/16 to 2018/19, the details of which will be officially announced next month. This represents an initial pot of funding with the three councils working together to attract further investment.

Warrington Borough Council’s executive board member for highways, transportation and climate change Cllr Linda Dirir said: “This development will make sure that Warrington Borough Council and its partners are in the best possible position to manage the millions of pounds’ worth of transport investment due to our region during coming years.

“The Cheshire and Warrington Local Transport Board will work closely with the Government, the Highways Agency and Network Rail, to help them to bring forward projects from their own investment programmes that could greatly benefit the area.

“Improved local transport means connecting better, so it’s easier for people to access jobs and leisure opportunities and it’s easier for businesses to communicate. Having a better transport infrastructure will also help give businesses more confidence in investing in the area. It’s all part of making Warrington a better place to live, work and invest, and reinforcing Warrington ’s status as a major driver of growth in the North West .”

One of the main roles of CWLTB will be to create a strategic transport policy and a transport connectivity and infrastructure plan to cover all forms of transport. To achieve its strategic and wider objectives, the CWLTB will also develop an integrated transport investment programme of capital projects for the sub region.

There will be a pooled transport investment fund, and the CWLTB will work with economic development teams to identify other funding sources, including private sector funding contributions and investments.

The new body will have the power to approve schemes, release funding and scrutinise individual schemes for consideration.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE - 12th MAY 2013

Work continues behind the scenes aimed at bring forward the re-opening of the Middlewich line to passengers
and the building of a new station to serve Middlewich and the surrounding area.
Our MP Fiona Bruce is still working tirelessly on our behalf, and presented the Parliamentary petition calling
for the re-opening of the line and station on the 20th March.
She followed this up by writing to the Rt. Hon. Simon Burns, the Railways Minister, making him aware of
the tremendous support the re-opening scheme has, both among the people of Middlewich and councillors and
officials at town, borough and regional levels.
These representations were backed up by letters making similar points from Cheshire East Council and from
the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign.
Our main concern at the moment is still the perceived reluctance of Network Rail to talk about the scheme.
That organisation’s assertion that ‘the proposals have been looked at and there is not a sufficient business case’
needs to be challenged and corrected.
As far as we are aware NR have not looked into the proposals at all, and their attitude remains that  they will
not do so until enough money has been put on the table to enable the scheme to progress through the GRIP
process.
We are heartened by the fact that the Department of Transport has offered to provide advice to Cheshire East
Council, whose responsibility as the local transport authority it is to progress this scheme.
This is something that Cheshire East has stated that it is very keen to do, as the benefits for Middlewich and
the wider area of the re-instatement of this  link make it of  vital importance for the regeneration of the town
and a considerably wider catchment area.
Our hope is that the Middlewich proposals will be considerably more advanced when the Government decides
to make more money available for schemes such as ours.
Recently Network Rail’s Director of Network Strategy and Planning published consultation documents on the
long-term planning of the network in order to achieve: ‘economic growth, reduced carbon emissions and
improved quality of life for communities and individuals.’
Fiona Bruce immediately identified this as an opportunity to raise the campaign’s profile within Network Rail
and she has written to NR’s Director of Network Strategy and Planning reminding him of the existence of the
Middlewich proposals, which will do all this and more for this area, and asking for his help in getting NR to
look at the plans and talk to Cheshire East about them.
MRLC will also be writing a letter supporting what Fiona Bruce says.
To sum up, we are more confident than ever of the eventual success of our campaign and will continue to do
everything we can, in conjunction with our very enthusiastic local MP and Borough Council, to ensure further
progress.
Dave Roberts,
Chairman
Middlewich Rail Link Campaign

DATE SET FOR PRESENTATION OF PETITION TO PARLIAMENT

Middlewich Rail Link Campaign has welcomed the news that the date has been set for the presentation to Parliament of our petition calling for the re-opening of Middlewich Station.

Our photograph shows Cllr Mike Parsons handing over the Middlewich Rail Link Petition
 to MP Fiona Bruce during last year's Middlewich Wartime Weekend

Congleton MP Fiona Bruce's office has announced that this will take place at 7pm on the 20th March, which, coincidentally happens to be Budget Day.
 The title which it has been allocated by the Journal Office is 'Reopening Middlewich Station to passengers'.
Our thanks once again to Fiona Bruce and to everyone who signed the petition and helped with its organisation, helping us reach yet another milestone on the road to a new station for Middlewich.

UK PARLIAMENT WEBSITE LINK
FOR INFORMATION: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT