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.

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.

Ruth Kelly, House of Commons Transport Committee, 30th January 2008

As some of you may know, the Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, appeared before the House of Commons Transport Committee in the Houses of Parliament last Wednesday (30th January 2008). She was presenting the Department of Transport's Annual Report for 2007, but faced some questions about Woodhead from some of the panel. A video of the exchanges about Woodhead is below, followed by a transcript for those who'd rather read. We have published our own response to this as a Press Release here.

Transcript:

Graham Stringer MP: Given that you’ve said, Secretary of State, that “I’m not quite sure where we’re going because all options have to be looked at”, don’t you think protecting old lines that aren’t in use as railway lines should be part of that cautious approach to not knowing everything that might happen over the next five years. And, very specifically, because you answered a question on the floor of the house last week, can you tell us what your position is vis-à-vis the Woodhead tunnel.

Ruth Kelly MP: I certainly agree with you that if we believe that there’s a reasonable case to be made that a disused line should be brought back into use at some point in the foreseeable future then we ought to make provision to safeguard the use of that line, other things being equal. Now I know that you’ve been interested in the Woodhead tunnel and I have gone and looked at this personally and….

Stringer: The tunnel or the issue?

Kelly: …and I understand there are three tunnels - two are Victorian tunnels and a slightly newer tunnel. The National Grid owns these tunnels and it’s going to lay cables through the more modern of the tunnels. My Department has been in contact, on my behalf, with the National Grid and they have informed me that were the business case to materialise - the demand to materialise basically - for passenger transport in future, then it would be possible to use those…..
I mean, the fact that the National Grid has laid cables in those tunnels would not preclude their use in the future. Now that’s an important factor, I think, in any decision.

Another point has been raised - I’ll be completely honest with the committee here - about freight. Now I know this has been identified by The Northern Way as a priority and I am currently having a look to satisfy myself that we have sufficient flexibility in future to ensure that any sensible decisions on freight, that may or may not arise, could be taken.

(edit)

Kelly: The issue of the Woodhead tunnel has specifically arisen because The Northern Way has identified this as one of its priorities.

David Clelland MP: Are you saying, Secretary of State, that the National Grid are going to lay their cables in such a way as they would not interfere with the tunnel being used, or are you saying that they are going to lay their cables but there may have to be some alterations if the tunnel is used after that which, obviously, that will add to the cost of bringing the tunnel back into use.

Kelly: I think there are two possibilities here. I think it’s either the case that the old tunnels could be used for rail services or indeed were the new tunnel to be needed, then I think those cables would have to be relaid. Now that’s one of the issues that I’m looking at at the moment.

Clelland: So they are not going to lay the cables in such a way that the tunnel will be able to be brought back into use without them having to be altered again.

Kelly: They have given us the assurance that their laying of the cables in this tunnel would not preclude their future use. I’m not saying there wouldn’t be an expense associated with that, but it would not preclude their future use.

Ruth Kelly on Woodhead

Tuesday 22nd January saw Angela Smith (MP for Sheffield Hillsborough) take the opportunity to ask questions of the Secretary of State for Transport, Ruth Kelly, in the House of Commons. Below are details of the exchange (also recorded on this page on theyworkforyou.com):

Angela Smith: I am glad to hear that my right hon. Friend is committed to developing the use of rail for freight. She will be aware that many Members of this House share the ambition of the Northern Way to reopen the Woodhead line, not least because doing so would offer us the opportunity to carry more freight by rail in the north. Will she therefore commit to ensuring that the National Grid Company does not use the 1953 Woodhead tunnel for its recabling work, because doing so would dash completely any hope that we have of reopening that line for freight?

Ruth Kelly: My hon. Friend makes her point in her own way, but it is important that we keep as many options open as possible. I have had contact with the National Grid Company about this, and I think that two points are true. First, it owns the tunnel and can invest in its own cabling in the tunnel. Secondly, it has assured us that even if it did that, it would not preclude reopening the tunnel for freight traffic were the growth of freight traffic to warrant it. I am committed to ensuring that we work with the National Grid Company to keep all options on the table.

It is important to note three fundamental errors in Ruth Kelly's statement, both of which were explained to us by National Grid themselves at our meeting with them on 14th January. Firstly, the 1953 tunnel will definitely be put beyond use for anything but cabling. There were no plans on behalf of National Grid to allow concurrent use of the tunnel for cabling and rail traffic. Indeed, part of their motivation for using the 1953 tunnel was to ensure that future expansion of cabling capacity, which they said would be needed for the projected growth in demand for electricity supply, would be possible.

Secondly, they reported to us that since the new cables that would be installed had a 40 year 'asset life', the tunnel could only be available for use by trains in 40 years time. The implication was that they would want compensation from anyone who wanted to use the tunnel, and this was latterly explicitly stated by them.

Thirdly, they stated plainly that once they had moved cables from the Victorian tunnels, that these tunnels would not be maintained and would in fact be sealed up for good. They clearly do not intend to stand any of the costs that may be necessary to maintain the old tunnels.

We will have our own response to Ruth Kelly's statement in due course...