PETITION HANDOVER SEPTEMBER 22nd 2012

The official handover of MRLC's petition calling for a passenger train service and a new station for Middlewich took place on Saturday September 22nd in the Bull Ring, Middlewich.
Middlewich's MP Fiona Bruce is seen accepting the petition from Cllr Mike Parsons.
Also in the photograph are (left to right): Cllr Paul Edwards, Cllr Sonya Edwards, Town Mayor Cllr Simon McGrory, Cllr Keith Bagnall Cllr Andrew Malloy (Knutsford) and Deputy Town Mayor, Cllr Bernice Walmsley.
The fact that Sonya and Bernice are 'in uniform' is explained by the fact that the handover took place during Middlewich's second Wartime Weekend, as can be seen from the banner in the background.
The petition will enable Fiona to raise the matter of the Middlewich line in Parliament, and MRLC would like to record its appreciation of all the hard work put in by everyone who helped obtain the signatures, and in particular to Cllr Peter Hirst.

SEE ALSO: OFFICIAL HANDOVER OF THE MRLC PETITION (ARCHIVED)

MOMENTUM GATHERING FOR RAIL SERVICE - MIDDLEWICH GUARDIAN REPORT

The Middlewich Guardian of August 15th 2012 carried this story on the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign:

MOMENTUM GATHERING FOR RAIL SERVICE

Here's the full text of the article, reproduced with permission:

MOMENTUM GATHERING FOR MIDDLEWICH RAIL SERVICE WITH SUPPORT FROM MP

by David Morgan

FIONA Bruce MP has said that reopening Middlewich’s railway station is her priority for the town.

Campaigners have now collected more than 1,600 signatures in a petition urging for the Northwich to Sandbach line to be upgraded for passengers.

Fiona has agreed to present the petition to Parliament in the autumn.

She said: “This is a tremendous number of signatures which shows the strength of support for the reopening of Middlewich Station to passengers among local people.

“I pay tribute to the retailers of Middlewich in particular who have worked so hard to obtain this number of signatures in a relatively short period.

“This will enable me apply to the Speaker of the House of Commons to present this petition to Parliament in the autumn and it would be wonderful if we could reach the target number of 2,000 signatures by then.”

Reopening the line through Middlewich would cost around £2million and a feasibility study released in July 2009 revealed that the benefit would be five times greater than the price.

Cheshire East Council has recently been awarded £3.5million from the Government for its local sustainable transport fund Middlewich Rail Link Campaign members are hoping that a portion of that money can go towards the project.

Clr Mike Parsons, ward member for Middlewich, has requested a meeting with cabinet members Clr Rod Menlove and Clr Jamie Macrae.

Harry Boardman, a member of the Rail Link Campaign, added “There are substantial benefits to the region as a whole from opening this line.

“It would provide cross county connectivity unseen by Cheshire for more than half a century.”

Cheshire East Council had not commented as the Guardian went to press.

Middlewich Rail Link Campaign's petition is available to sign at the library, the Victoria Buildings and various shops in Wheelock Street.

SEE ALSO: CREWE CHRONICLE REPORT

Facebook feedback:

Chris Koons:
This is SUCH an important issue for Middlewich & the surrounding area... If I could nip back over from Kansas to go in and sign the petition myself, I certainly would. If you are still in the area or even pass through Middlewich sometimes, this is your chance to make your voice heard!
PLEASE take just a minute to stop in at one of the petition stations (Middlewich Library, the Victoria Buildings aka the rates office, or various Wheelock St shops) and sign it. Or if, like me, you're too far away to sign it yourself, please pass this along to your family and friends who are still there.
Wouldn't it be absolutely fantastic if it has the support of everyone in Middlewich?
What a great and convincing thing that would be for Fiona Bruce to take to Parliament in the autumn!

Donna Parkinson:
We in our house have a feeling that the Middlewich line is being used for 'un-p.c.' reasons at the moment. Movements in the night, helicopters flying around. What is it actually used for at the moment?

Dave Roberts:
As far as I (personally) know, it's used for normal railway purposes - i.e. for diversions (particularly when the Crewe-Chester line is closed), empty passenger stock movements and freight as and when required. The line always did carry trains throughout the night (most lines do, in fact).

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PEAK FOREST & BUXTON via MIDDLEWICH 11th AUGUST 2012

Passengers on a UK Railtours' special excursion train were treated to the sight of Middlewich in the summer sunshine on the morning of the 11th August 2012, as the train made its way from Basingstoke to Buxton.

Neil Cundliffe was out and about with his camera and was able to get these excellent shots of the train as it negotiated the Middlewich Loop. They are reproduced here with his permission.

Here's the train on the loop line at Middlewich, just passing the colour light signal which would have stopped it there in the event of another train coming from the Northwich direction. At this point the lines though Middlewich are designated 'UP' and 'DOWN' in the traditional fashion. The UP line is the one on the left, heading in the direction of Sandbach, Crewe and, ultimately, London. While everyone else goes 'down' to London, trains always go 'up' to London. Notice how shiny the rails are; always evidence that the line is being put to good use. Compare Neil's shot with this one taken four years earlier

Here the train is leaving the Middlewich Loop and heading for Northwich, where it will leave the branch line  and head East along the Mid-Cheshire line to Altrincham, Manchester, then via Hazel Grove, New Mills Central and Chinley to its ultimate destination in classic limestone territory at Buxton. This train was 'topped and tailed' - i.e. it had a locomotive at either end (in this case nos 66213 and 66153), making for ease of operation - when it was time for the train to make its way back home, all the driver had to do was walk from one end of the train to the other. Evidence that the train is moving away from the camera in this photograph is provided by the red lamp on the locomotive. Like motor vehicles trains always carry white lights at the front and red ones at the rear. And a train would never enter the loop from this direction.

Neil's dubbed this photo 'Up Close and Personal at Whatcroft' and its easy to see why. Here the train is making its way through the picturesque scenery of Whatcroft, just before running through the outskirts of Northwich to join the Mid-Cheshire line at Rudheath.

For the record, the train started from Basingstoke at 5.49am, reached Crewe at 11am, Middlewich at around 11.25am (or, according to DB Schenker's running information, at precisely 26½  minutes past 11), Northwich at 11.45am and Buxton at 1.58pm.

It was due to leave Buxton at 4.50pm and arrive back at Basingstoke at 11.39pm.

The journey back was by a slightly different route, and passengers were not treated to the experience of Middlewich by Night.

UK RAILTOURS WEBSITE

MCRUA CHAIRMAN'S BLOG: SPECIAL ON THE MIDDLEWICH LINE

SEE ALSO: THE LIMESTONE COWBOY RIDES THROUGH MIDDLEWICH

Facebook Feedback:

Jenny Hatton: In over thirty years I have never ever seen a train on that line - I thought it was shut!

Diane Russell: There are trains using this line every day. Mostly goods trains, but there is sometimes a Virgin passenger train, if it gets diverted.

Jenny Hatton: I may have to take some sandwiches and camp out next to it - seeing is believing!

Diane Russell: I live about fifty yards away from it, so I can see them from my kitchen window.

Dave Roberts: The shiny rails are evidence that the line's being used quite frequently at the moment. Neil, who took the photos, tells me he lives close to the line and frequently hears trains rumbling through, particularly at night.

Bill Armsden: On a quiet night with the bedroom windows open and a breeze in the right direction, I can hear trains rumbling along the track.

Diane Russell: You can more or less set your clock by them, Dave. One about 5pm most days, and then again between 10 and 11pm, and just lately there have been quite a few during the night. I have got used to them now, and it's quite nice hearing them going past, even in the night.

Dave Roberts: It brings back memories for me. When I was young and lived across the road in King Street I'd often hear trains running in the night - steam trains from 1959 to 1968 and then diesels. I sometimes hear trains in the night now, but they're mostly on the West Coast Main Line, which isn't too far away.

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NEWS OF THE MRLC PETITION and FUNDING POSSIBILITIES

Our picture shows the 'Limestone Cowboy' special train on the Middlewich Branch line, passing the site of the original Middlewich Station on August 25th 2011. Photo: Vernon Perkins/Middlewich Rail Link Campaign

by Robin Lord 
At a meeting of the Middlewich Rail Link Campaign on Tuesday 31st July Councillor Mike Parsons announced
that we have now collected over 1600 signatures for the petition asking that the Northwich to
Sandbach line be re-opened along with a station in Middlewich.
Fiona Bruce MP for Congleton said “ that would be enough signatures to present the petition to
Parliament, but  as Parliament is now in recess it would do no harm to collect more signatures in
the period before Parliament returns in September.
“I have been in touch with Michael Jones Leader of the Cheshire East council and told him that the
station in Middlewich is my priority for the area. Mike has been with me on a visit to Middlewich”
A big thank you from Councillor Peter Hirst is due to the retailers in Wheelock St who between
them have collected about two thirds of the total so far collected. Mike Parsons Cheshire East
Councillor for Middlewich Ward said “We will invite the Wheelock St. retailers to come and meet
Fiona Bruce when we present her with the petition.”
Mike also said “Cheshire East Council has been granted £3.5M by the government from the Local
Sustainable Transport Fund and I have written to Rod Menlove and Jamie Macrae, Cheshire East
cabinet members, to request a meeting to discuss using some of that money for the Middlewich Rail
Link.”
Harry Boardman a member of the committee added “There is also £100M allocated by government
to station improvements and a further £100M for 'transport for all' in the plans for 2014/19 and we
will try to get a share of that money as neither Sandbach nor Northwich have facilities for the
disabled, Amazingly it is not yet compulsory to provide such access to stations”.
“There are substantial benefits to the region as a whole from opening this line, it would make it
much easier for Knutsford residents to get to Crewe thereby taking a load off Manchester Picadilly
and it would provide cross county connectivity unseen by Cheshire for more than half a century.”
There is plenty of time left for Middlewich residents or others with an interest to sign the petition,
forms are availble in the library, the council offices and many of the shops in Wheelock St. the more
we get the sooner we are likely to succeed".