Although the nine day blockade of the West Coast Main Line will undoubtedly cause some disruption for day to day travel throughout the area there is one bonus for travellers in West Lancashire.

During the blockade Northern Rail are running a hourly service (Mon to Sat) between Blackpool North and Ormskirk to maintain a reasonable journey time to Liverpool.

Click here to download the timetable for the duration of the blockade

Between Saturday 13th and Sunday 21st July 2013 inclusive, the West Coast Main Line will be closed through Wigan for a series of track and junction renewals and upgrades to be undertaken.

Work will be taking place at four key sites, Golborne Junction, Bamfurlong Junction, Springs Branch Junction and Balshaw Lane Junction, and as a result the railway will be closed between Winwick Junction (near Warrington) and Euxton Junction (near Leyland).

The remodelled junctions should be easier for Network Rail to maintain, and in certain instances there will be increases in line speed.

There will be impact on all services that normally pass through this area and details of the changes to Northern Rail services can be seen by clicking here. Alterations to other operator’s services can be found by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk

Lancashire’s railways have played an imortant part in the development of the county since the first line was opened to Preston in 1838.

Running from June to November 2013, Changing Tracks is an exciting programme of activities and events designed by Lancashire County Council’s Community Heritage team to celebrate the history and heritage of Lancashire’s railways since 1945.

The journey starts at the launch event at the Museum of Lancashire in Preston, on Saturday 22 June. Get along to see displays, join in children’s activities, watch films, hear poems, stories and talks about Lancashire’s railways and learn how to trace your ancestors.

Also on the day you will be able to talk to people from:

• The North West Sound Archive
• Lancashire Libraries
• Ribble Steam Railway
• Community Rail Lancashire
• Lancashire Archives

The event is open between 10.30 and 17.00 and entry is free. For more information visit the Changing Tracks website at http://bit.ly/changingtracks or phone the Community Heritage Team on 01772 534021. A brochure of the events between June and November can be downloaded by clicking here.

Getting there

The full address of the museum is:

Museum of Lancashire
Stanley Street
Preston
PR1 4YP

The museum is adjacent to HM Prison Preston and opposite Homebase and is on a number of bus routes and has free parking for cars (satnav users - enter the postcode or grid ref: SD547296).

‘Heart of Huncoat’ is the name of new art project unveiled on Tuesday 21 May 2013 at Huncoat station. Brian Haworth and Marjorie Birch from the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership have worked with local artist Alastair Nicholson, Huncoat Primary School and the ‘Hands on Huncoat’, the Friends of Station group to produce art work for display at Huncoat station.

The artwork takes the form of a vinyl banner on a fence on the Colne bound platform and metal castings fastened to the waiting shelters on both platforms. The banner has a QR (quick response) code, which can be scanned by smart phones, on the corner of the banner and this links to a website where you can see an animated version of the artwork. For those without a smart phone click  this link to take you to the video on Youtube

This is an edited version of the full media release – click here to read the full document.

The latest issue of Reading Between The Lines,  the newsletter of Community Rail Lancashire is now available to download off the main CRL website. Packed with information about community rail activities in Lancashire and beyond it is a must read! Click HERE to download RBTL 16.

A new website has been created to help promote Ribble Valley Connect, a new service being introduced at the end of the 2013 DalesRail season. Ribble Valley Connect will run on winter Sundays between Blackpool North and Hellifield from 15th September 2013 until 11th May 2014. You can access the new site by clicking the navigation button to the left of this article or by clicking here.

As part of the DfT funded BwD CONNECT project we are now launching a bespoke travel awareness website for Blackburn with Darwen http://www.bwdconnect.org.uk/

This resource will greatly benefit all residents and visitors, employees & employers and those seeking work within the borough with journey planning information for bus, rail, cycling, walking and car share options.

The website will be invaluable to local businesses wishing to develop travel plans or provide their employees with information about how they can commute to work. From recent survey work undertaken through the QUEST project local businesses are keen to learn more about local travel and transport options.

An interactive cycling map is currently in development and will be added to the site by mid April and the pedestrian information for the borough provided through a link to the Walk it website will also be completed very soon.

Ultimately this will be the first time that a website dedicated to promoting sustainable travel in BwD is offered to the general public and business community.

The 2013 DalesRail Brochure is now availble to download – visit www.dalesrail.com/downloads or click here to download a copy. The printed version will be available shortly from the normal outlets.

“Beeching’s report was devastating for communities deprived of their local station, but his hardline approach taught us how to fight to save our railways, and to turn them into a success story.”  This was the message from the Association of Community Rail Partnerships on the 50^th anniversary of the Beeching report.

“The history of the last half century since the Beeching report has demonstrated clearly that the way forward for local Rail is to work with the local Community in Partnership.” Said Neil Buxton, General Manager of ACoRP.   “The analysis in Beeching’s report showed clearly that the railway could not do this on its own.”

To read the full press release click here!

A handy new guide has been launched offering ideas and inspiration for anyone wanting to kick back, relax and explore Cumbria using some of the county’s most scenic rail lines.

Produced by the Community Rail Partnerships in conjunction with TransPennine Express, Northern Rail and the GoLakes Travel programme, the new leaflet is called ‘Discover Cumbria by Train’ and brings together information about all of the county’s rail services in one easily accessible bite-size guide for the first time.

To inspire some great all-round days out, ‘Discover Cumbria by Train’ has suggestions of 30 great visitor attractions throughout the county – all within easy access of railway stations – alongside details of connecting bus routes.

To see the full press release click here and to download the leaflet click here.