A petition has been started to re-open the railway line between Matlock, Bakewell, Buxton and Manchester. Writing to the Transport Minister Patrick Mcloughlin, it states that there would be an economic boost to the era, and would remove vehicles from the road. On the Change.Org page it states;
“A feasibility study was carried out in the past and although financially unviable at the time, a decade has now passed and it’s a whole different situation. Passenger numbers have grown astronomically, all but one of the stations along the current Derwent Valley Line have seen passenger numbers more than double over this time. Rail travel is also in demand more than ever. Tourism and the local economy would undoubtedly be boosted in the town of Bakewell, as well as other areas the route covers. There would be opportunity for freight traffic to use the line from quarries around Buxton who currently have to use road transport when rail is the preferred alternative if it were an option. The line would also provide a much needed link that would offer a diversionary route for other lines during times of engineering works and also take pressure off other lines where capacity is an issue, such as where freight is being routed that way when this line would offer a more direct route.”
I have always been in support of reopening railway lines in moving passengers and freight off the roads and onto the railway lines. Being a history student, my belief was that the Beeching Report was short sighted and never accounted a future for the United Kingdom with a higher population, more jobs and a resurge in industry. We need to utilise our closer railway lines so that the mistakes in the past can be rectified.
I have linked the petition at the top of this article.
Thanks for reading.
Loco Yard 