Since the summer period our Rochdale to Clitheroe service has suffered a variety of problems affecting its reliability and performance. Severe weather has resulted in flooding at several locations including near Darwen and at Langho station. High winds blowing down trees across the line at various locations on several occasions similarly caused train cancellations. Signalling, track-circuit and points failures added to these woes, but were usually promptly dealt with by Network Rail, allowing services to recommence as soon as possible and we should acknowledge that this remedial work is often done by their staff in difficult conditions.

On top of this, our elderly class 150 and 156 trains show their age both mechanically and electrically and Northern Railway have difficulty keeping up with maintenance and repairs. The result is a lower availability of trains than previously and many of our RV trains being “short-formed” i.e. 2 coach rather than the scheduled 4-coach formations. Whilst some of these short morning and evening trains are full in the Ribble Valley, beyond Blackburn it can be back to the old “sardine days” for commuters and Bolton, Salford and the various Manchester universities’ students.

We can only hope the situation improves and that Northern’s performance and punctuality targets are reached – and the promised new train procurement procedure proceeds with all haste. At the time of writing in mid-November Northern has announced a record increase in passenger numbers for the previous accounting period.

I remember as a youngster in the early 1960’s when the massive railway bridge over the river Lune at Lancaster and some other major engineering jobs on the West Coast Main Line necessitated weekend closures resulted in diversion of WCML trains via Blackburn, the Ribble Valley, Hellifield and the Settle and Carlisle route. The first of these resulted in famous Duchess Coronation and Princess Royal class Pacific steam locomotives hauling their long express passenger trains through the Ribble Valley. Years later I, by chance, managed to photograph the northbound and southbound Royal Scot trains pass just outside Blackburn, each hauled by Class 40 diesel locomotives. Later still, Virgin Trains Scotch expresses were hauled by Class 57 diesels, exchanging with electric locos at Preston or Carlisle. In more recent times such rail diversions became impossible with non-availability of the non-electric rolling stock and locomotives for such diversions. The answer was “bustitution” with buses ferrying rail passengers between Preston,Lancaster and Carlisle via the M6 motorway.

However, this year, a challenge has arisen with the Clifton rail bridge near Penrith and an M6 motorway bridge both suffering age defects and requiring replacement at the same time in early 2026. Bustitution would not be a viable option therefore with only the old A6 road open and likely to be clogged with displaced motorway traffic.

The various railway operators and authorities have therefore been working together to, once again, plan and run diverted trains via the Settle and Carlisle line. New Hitachi-built Evero bi-mode (diesel or electric powered) trains from West Midlands Trains are planned to be used for these. On 20th August one of these trains performed a trial run, leaving its Oxley depot in Wolverhampton, and travelling up the West Coast main line to Preston, thence to Blackburn and via the Ribble Valley to Hellifield and Carlisle. Nothing has been formally announced and some or all trains could still go as far north as Carnforth on the WCML and via the Bentham line to Hellifield, reversing there for Carlisle and vice versa, but it looks like the Ribble Valley may see these trains in January 2026.

Possible use for such diversions in the future was one of the key arguments for not closing the Settle-Carlisle and keeping open the Ribble Valley line in the 1980’s. So, it’s now coming true.