Save the Woodhead Tunnel - January 2008 Special Event Update:

The disused Woodhead rail route between Manchester and Sheffield, including the main tunnel through Longdendale could be lost to trains forever if National Grid’s plans to use it for its refurbished electricity cable come to fruition. National Grid owns and uses the two most northerly tunnels for its cable but they are in a poor state of repair. It intends to re-lay the cables in the third, southerly tunnel, the only tunnel that would accommodate the railway but not alongside high voltage electricity cabling. As the use of the two smaller tunnels for rail is likely to be economically unviable, National Grid’s plans would effectively block the re-opening of the rail route. In order to raise awareness of the issues the Save the Woodhead Tunnel campaign group staged an event at the tunnel entrance on January 12th 2008.

Seventy people cycled or walked the route to listen to speeches about the need to get a full and open debate about the use of the tunnels in the future – all decision making has been behind closed doors, with key stakeholders excluded. There has been huge support for the campaign from local MPs such as Angela Smith and Graham Stringer (who are seeking an adjournment debate in Parliament), from the Northern Way, the consortium of northern regional development agencies, from Freight on Rail, the freight operators group, and from many environmental and rail groups.

Despite this support, the Government is still failing to take a long term view of planning for the railway and refusing to intervene and ask for a proper inquiry. This week National Grid started work in the main tunnel. However, all is not lost. The imperative for an electricity supply and the aspiration for a new rail route could both be met if National Grid used the main tunnel temporarily, repaired the Victorian tunnels and then moved the cable back into them. If you want to support us in this long term plan for keeping the rail options open then please write to your MP wherever you are in the country. Contact Save the Woodhead Tunnel for more details.

For more information visit: www.savethewoodheadtunnel.blogspot.com