Full steam ahead for East Lancashire Railway

Full steam ahead for East Lancashire Railway

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Partners in the East Lancashire Railway Trust have won two prestigious awards for their plans to make the steam railway even more successful.

They want to double the number of visitors over the next decade and cement the railway’s position as a major tourist attraction in the North West.

Their strategic development plan, “The ELR 2020 Strategy, ” impressed judges so much at the Royal Town Planning Institute that they have given it the North West RTPI Planning Achievement Award. It also won the section for Best Regeneration Initiative.

The partners who make up the Trust are Rochdale, Bury and Rossendale Councils, together with the East Lancashire Light Railway Company. The Trust has brought the railway through its first 20 years of operation since running its first train from Bury to Ramsbottom in 1987, and there are now more than 100,000 visitors a year to the railway and the towns and villages along the line.

The Trust refused to rest on its laurels and, with the help of tourism specialists Locum Consulting, published this new strategy which contains wide-ranging development, marketing and commercial proposals. Towns along the line from Rawtenstall to Heywood will benefit, and there is a proposal to extend the line to meet the main Network Rail track at Castleton.

Roy Walker, chairman of the ELR Trust, said: "These proposals can only increase the benefits our local economy has already gained from the development of the restored steam railway in recent years. The new Castleton junction, in particular, should provide a significant boost to tourism visitors to all the towns along the line bringing our area's attractions within easy rail travel of Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and other Yorkshire towns."

The East Lancashire Railway 2020 Strategy Summary Report can be viewed here.