Local people send a message to government: "Re-open Our Tunnel!"

On Saturday 2nd August over 50 people from both sides of the Peaks gathered at a demonstration to demand the Woodhead Tunnel re-open to rail. Some attending the protest had hiked for more than two hours over the route of the Woodhead Line, whilst others had cycled from Hadfield and one man had come all the way from Southampton. The crowd, gathered at the tunnel entrance, heard from speakers and enjoyed music from a bicycle-towed sound system in the August sunshine.

The Tunnel has been closed to trains for over twenty years but local people believe there is now an excellent case to re-open the route between Sheffield and Manchester in order to meet national climate change commitments, relieve congestion on local roads and boost the local economy.

Local campaigner, Jonathan Atkinson of Save the Woodhead Tunnel, believes the ball is now in the Government's court.

"Everyone now sees the common sense case in re-opening the Woodhead line: local MPs, businesses and unions, the Northern Way and now the local community have demonstrated their support. It's up to Ruth Kelly and the Department of Transport to pull their fingers out and include Woodhead in the forthcoming Transport White Paper."

Representatives from Save the Woodhead Tunnel are due to meet Rail Minister Rosie Winterton in October. If people want to get involved in the campaign they can visit their website at www.savethewoodheadtunnel.blogspot.com or attend the next meeting at the Prince of Wales pub, Glossop, 7.30pm Thursday 14th August.

Demonstration today - thank you for attending

Under a bright blue sky on a lovely day, around 50 people turned out to help us demonstrate again in favour of re-opening the Woodhead Tunnel.

Those gathered heard speakers from the 2M Group, Stockport Green Party, Save Swallows Wood and Stockport Friends of the Earth.

Many thanks to all those that attended - our farthest-flung friend came all the way from Southampton to join us, and we are also grateful for the attendance of many from the nearby Lifespan Community Collective.

You all made a difference to our day, and hopefully, we can all make a difference for our future and that of the Tunnel.

We plan to post Videos of the speeches at a later date.

Demonstration to ‘Save the Woodhead Tunnel’, Saturday 2nd August 2008, 2 p.m.

Today, we are reissuing details of our forthcoming demonstration with the Press Release we will be sending out on Monday.

Firstly, to remind you of the details:

Date: Saturday 2nd August 2008

Time: 2 p.m.

Place: Woodhead Tunnel, Western entrance (click here for a map, or see below)

The Press Release follows:

Campaigners working to 'Save the Woodhead Tunnel' are to hold a demonstration calling for the Government to re-open the historic Woodhead line.

Locals argue the reopened Woodhead railway line would help reduce transport greenhouse gas emissions and the demonstration is timed to coincide with the national Climate Camp to be held at Kingsnorth Power station in August.

Local activists argue the re-opened line would relieve congestion on local roads, boost the local economy and open up the area to tourists. The future of the tunnel has been in doubt since National Grid began routing cables through it earlier this year. Campaigners have received assurances from Secretary of State Ruth Kelly that the tunnel will only be preserved for rail use after 2010 IF the case is made for the route to be re-opened.

A spokesperson says:

"Here in Longdendale it’s all too obvious what’s wrong with the government’s transport policy. The A628,a road that passes through the Peak District National Park, is clogged with cars and heavy good vehicles, whilst planes from Manchester Airport spew out greenhouse gases overhead. Meanwhile one of the most modern railway tunnels in Britain stands empty.

We demand a sustainable transport policy with freight taken off the road and onto the railway and commuters taking the train rather than the plane. We want trains through the Woodhead Tunnel again!"

The demonstration will include a samba band, picnic and speakers and coincides with the Camp for Climate Action which is to be held from 3rd-11th August at the coal fired power station in Kingsnorth, Kent.

Wherever you are, please join us for the demo - we are especially keen to hear from people on the other side of the Pennines who wish to set up their own group. You are all welcome.


View Larger Map

Save the Woodhead Tunnel Press Release: Ruth Kelly invites the campaign to contribute to Transport White Paper

Campaigners fighting to secure Woodhead new tunnel for future railway use have been asked to contribute to the consultation process on a key government White Paper, ‘Transport Challenges’, aiming to develop a sustainable transport system. The invitation was made by Secretary of State Ruth Kelly following the reopening of Salford Central station on 22nd February 2008.

Ms Kelly spoke with members of the ‘Save the Woodhead Tunnel’ group who were demonstrating at the ceremony against the National Grid’s use of the tunnel as a cable run for trans-Pennine power cables. NG’s project will make it difficult and expensive to reopen the former Woodhead railway route - something which environmental, transport and business groups see as increasingly necessary. Freight traffic between east and west coast ports is expected to rise significantly over the next 20 years. Without a new line across the Pennines, that traffic will have to be carried on congested roads as the existing rail network is already operating close to capacity.

Jonathan Atkinson, one of the campaign’s coordinators, told Ms Kelly that there should be “a full, open and democratic investigation into what is happening. At the moment, the National Grid is just taking a decision in the interests of shareholders.”

Ruth Kelly told campaigners that “I want to take the decision that’s best on this” and recognised the views being expressed by a broad coalition of stakeholders that “Woodhead tunnel could be valuable in the future”. She accepted that “we’ve got to get the position right. If there is a case [for reopening the line], we’ll make sure that the Woodhead tunnel can still be used.”

Formal consultation on the White Paper will take place between May and July before publication of the final ‘Transport Challenges’ document in January 2009.

Video of our Salford demonstration

Manchester Evening News: Salford station re-opened (Alan Salter)

An article from today's Manchester Evening News about the reopening of Salford Central railway station mentions our demonstration, by Alan Salter:

Two government ministers have celebrated Salford's new £5m station.

Transport Secretary and Bolton MP Ruth Kelly officially re-opened the city's Central Station.

The improvements, paid for by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority and Manchester Enterprises, include almost 500 square metres of glass to create a new entrance hall and ticket office.

Among the VIPs waiting for the Transport Secretary was another cabinet member, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears.

Dozens of police were on duty as protesters from the Save The Woodhead Tunnel campaign gathered outside.

They are campaigning to both politicians to prevent National Grid laying power cables through the 1954 tunnel which would make it difficult to re-open the rail line between Manchester and Sheffield.

Ms Kelly said of the new-look station: "This is not just the story of the regeneration of Salford, it is the regeneration of the railway."

And GMPTA chairman Coun Roger Jones said: "This is just the first phase. If we can get the funds, this station will be a mini Piccadilly Station within a decade."

Demonstration: Salford Central Station, 22nd February 2008 @ 12.00 p.m.

(photo credit - And-rew)
We are today calling another demonstration to further our cause.

Tomorrow, Salford Central Railway Station is being ceremonially re-opened by both the Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, who is also the local MP for Salford.

Whilst we welcome the development of any railway station, we feel that the potential destruction of a national asset such as Woodhead by National Grid should not be ignored by this government and we plan to use every possible opportunity we can to remind the Secretary of State of this.

Details of the demo are as follows:

Date: Friday, 22nd February 2008

Time: 12.00 p.m. (for 12.30 p.m.)

Place: Salford Central Railway Station, New Bailey Street, Salford, M3 5ET

Station information is here. The station is very easily accessible - it is only a few hundred yards from the junction of Bridge Street & Deansgate in Central Manchester.

Speeches from our demonstration

Below is a compilation of speeches from our Demonstration at Woodhead's western portal on 12th January, all taken from YouTube & all in the order they spoke on the day:

Chris Davies, MEP for the North West of England:

Peter Cranie, Green Party Euro candidate for the North West of England:

Anne Robinson, Friends of the Peak District:

A representative from Plane Stupid:

Peter Allen, High Peak Green Party:

Colin Elliff, a railway civil engineer:

Hugh Searle, 'Woodhead enthusiast':

Radio 4 'You & Yours' report...

...by Mark Holdstock is audible from this page on the BBC Radio 4 website for the next 7 days. If you listen to the full programme, the Woodhead report starts at about 44 minutes into the show.

Demonstration a huge success!

Many thanks to all of those who attended our demonstration today. There were 60+ people who came all the way to the site on a cold, winter afternoon to hear speakers supporting the campaign, to share stories about the railway and to pledge to try to stop National Grid's plans.

We know some of you came from as far afield as Bolton, Liverpool and Oxford to join with us and we are as humbled as we are impressed with the commitment shown by you.

Speakers included Chris Davies MEP, Peter Cranie (Green Party Euro candidate), Friends of the Peak District, Plane Stupid & High Peak Green Party as well as other concerned individuals. We had messages of support from Sheffield Friends of the Earth, the Campaign for Better Transport, Translink UK, and the Northern Way.

There are likely to be many media reports, as BBC TV, BBC Radio 4, High Peak Radio, the Manchester Evening News and other regional and local newspapers sent journalists and photographers. We will feature as many of them as we can here when they appear.

We would also welcome photographs and camcorder footage from anyone who was there for us to feature here. Thanks to four by three for the images used here.

If you would like more information about the campaign, please get in touch.

Demonstration update - media frenzy!

The samba band is confirmed, the messages of support are coming in from all over, and we hope the turnout will be high (or as high as possible for a 12 mile round trip!).

We have also had queries from many media organisations, including:

BBC 'Look North'
Channel M
Manchester Evening News/Guardian Media Group

In addition, BBC Radio 4's 'You & Yours' will be present, and are specifically looking to interview people who recall travelling on the line or better still worked on the line. Is this you? If so, please get in touch.

For full details of the demo, please see the previous post.

Demonstrate to Save the Woodhead Tunnel! - Saturday, January 12th 2008

We have organised a demonstration to further our campaign. The details are as follows:

Date: Saturday, 12th January 2008

Time: 1.00 p.m. until 3.00 p.m.

Place: Woodhead tunnel, Western entrance (click here for a map)

We hope to have speakers (to be confirmed) plus Samba bands. We can also now confirm that television and newspaper journalists will be present. All we need now is clement weather!

If you are an organisation/representative but cannot attend, please send us a message of support which we will read out at the rally.

People who wish to come are asked to make their own way to the tunnel, preferably using the Longdendale Trail (the old trackbed) travelling on foot or bicycle, but you can also travel along the B6105 to join the Trail if you can get a lift. Alternatively, you can drive to the site itself, turning off the A628. Parking is limited and the roads are precarious - please ensure that your own and others safety is paramount.

If you wish to walk or cycle the full distance, the best place to join the demo is at either the bus stop or Railway Station in Hadfield. There are regular trains to and from Manchester every 30 minutes, and hourly buses. The route from Hadfield to Woodhead is 6.3 miles long, and although the trail is completely level, you must be reasonably fit to walk and cycle there and back.

A map of the route is here.