Stephen Hammond, the Shadow Minister for Railways, visited Carnforth Station at the invitation of David Morris,the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Morecambe and Lunesdale.

The purpose of the visit was to see first hand, the site of the scheme to reconnect Carnforth Station to the North/South mainline network.

This is an important part of David Morris’s vision for this part of the Constituency and he has committed himself to achieving such an upgrade to Carnforth Station within 5 years of being elected as the new MP.

According to David, it is “imperative that Carnforth is recognised as a major destination for both Tourists and a facility for our Commuters. It is criminal that 10 years ago upon electing both a Labour MP and Government, this promised upgrade has been conveniently forgotten - but not by me”

Stephen Hammond MP was very impressed with Carnforth Station and the scheme and was delighted for the opportunity to see the site of the proposal at first hand.

The Shadow Minister commented that “the Main Line Train stops here twice a day yet takes on no passengers. It surely should not be allowed to leave without taking on passengers and this is precisely the sort of relatively small-scale proposal that would improve the Rail Network and bring the added prosperity to Carnforth”.

“A future Conservative Government would look favourably on the scheme and that David Morris would be in a position to give a political will to the proposals which Labour had promised but never delivered”.

Jim Trotman, the Tourism Manager from Lancaster City Council reported that the projected cost of the improvements would be in the region of £2million and that the benefits would soon out-way the costs.

Apart from the obvious benefits to the Carnforth hinterland, there was also the added benefit that it would cover the wider area of Carnforth, giving a better service to customers. This would enhance the possibility of more schemes like park and ride, which would benefit communities by taking traffic off the roads.

Carnforth Councillor Tony Johnson added that “Carnforth is rightly a major hub of the National Rail network and deserves this promotion to further enhance our towns status.”

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This news item was originally published in early October 2007, but was added to our website on the date shown above.

David Morris the Tory Parliamentary Spokesman visited Carnforth Railway Station to see for himself the missed opportunity of re-establishing a west coast main line link to Carnforth Station.

David gained the views and opinions of the Carnforth Railway Trust members who are perplexed to the reasons why this has not happened as a matter of course.

David said, “Tourism plays a significant role in the local and district economy and it defies belief that Carnforth, having the heritage and status as a major national rail junction linking north, south and the east that this key strategic station has not been re established on the west coast rail line.

“I am led to understand that the mainline train stops in Carnforth for 20 minutes in the morning and the evening, so why can’t it accept and drop off passengers?”

David acknowledged the dedication and hard work of the Carnforth Railway Trust in recreating and maintaining the station. He pledged his total support in making their dream of Carnforth becoming a mainline station a reality, should he become the area’s next Member of Parliament.

David added: “I have written to the Chief Executive of Virgin trains requesting a meeting and a feasibility study into this proposal and I have informed the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Theresa Villiers MP who is looking into this matter.”

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This news item was originally dated the 7th of September 2007 but was added to our website on the date shown above.