Better rail connectivity is urgently needed between Lancashire and Merseyside, MPs argued in a special debate in Parliament.
Southport MP Damien Moore argued that more should be done to build links between areas such as Preston, Liverpool, Southport, Ormskirk and Leyland – which can be achieved at relatively little cost for huge economic benefit for the North West.
Mr Moore was speaking in Parliament in support of South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher’s debate pushing the case for Midge Hall Railway Station in Leyland to be reopened.
Midge Hall was closed during the short-sight Beeching rail cuts in the 1960s, which also saw the closure of the direct rail lines between Southport and Preston and Southport and Ormskirk.
Much has changed since then to create a real need to bring the services back into use, through reopening the Burscough Curves, so that more people can use public transport and reduce carbon emissions and car journeys.
Speaking in Parliament, Southport MP Damien Moore said: “I commend my Katherine Fletcher for all her efforts to improve rail connectivity in the areas mentioned in the debate. It is great to have her as my constituency neighbour, working really hard on this issue, which is important to our constituents.
“Connectivity between regions is as important as connectivity within regions. Liverpool is in Merseyside and Preston is in Lancashire.
“We thank the Department for Transport for the extra funding going to both areas – they are getting about half a billion pounds to spend from the money that would have been spent on HS2.
“The temptation is always to spend such funding in a single area, but connectivity between the areas is important because of all the economic activity that goes on between them.
“That should be further enhanced by people being able to move between the areas by an easy train journey, rather than a complicated journey that they would be less likely to make.
“Connectivity is also important because we have an education triangle in the area and people living within it find it hard to get around it. There are universities at both ends of it, which people should be able to get to easily.
“However, people living in the middle of the area find it incredibly difficult to get to a mainline station, so they make car journeys rather than take the train. That is a retrograde step when we think about our carbon footprint.
“We are working on the issue. There are a huge number of stakeholders in my constituency and that of (Katherine Fletcher MP), including businesses and those in the education sector.
“The Ormskirk, Preston and Southport Travellers’ Association, which is one of the rail passenger forums, has continued to support our efforts in making the connections that are incredibly important to our constituents.
“When people in the affected communities think about their journey to work, college or university, they do not think about who their political representative is; they just know the journey is difficult and want someone to step in to resolve the problem.
“It is a really important time to seize the opportunity to improve the quality of life for our constituents. I know my constituents in Southport want to see these improvements, as do Katherine Fletcher’s constituents in South Ribble.
“We will continue to campaign for these concerns to be resolved until we see a feasibility study that will unlock these projects and make them a reality, making life easier for our constituents.
“We need a conversation about connectivity between areas because of the passengers affected in those blackspots.
“Rather than the money being spent on great services within each area, helping connectivity between our constituencies is equally important.”
In 2022. an impressive Business Case was presented to the Government for the reinstatement of the Burscough Curves, which would bring back direct rail travel between Southport, Preston and Ormskirk – a journey that passengers were able to make until the devastating Beeching Cuts in the 1960s.
The scheme at the time had impressive cross-party support, led by Southport MP Damien Moore (Conservative), West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper (Labour), Preston MP Sir Mark Kendrick (Labour), South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher (Conservative), and Lancashire County Council Leader Geoff Driver (Conservative) along with other organisations including Southport BID, Southport College, and many local businesses.
Restoring the Curves would see two miles of track relayed, with a two-way junction reinstated to allow connections to reopen.
It would also create an extension of the existing Merseyrail Liverpool to Ormskirk service with a half hourly service on to Southport.
Planners say the project could be delivered within two years, and a bid for £35 million was submitted to the government’s Restoring Your Railways Fund.
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