RAIL campaigners are demanding swifter action on reopening the Middlewich branch line after it emerged the town could have to wait at least 15 years.

In Cheshire West and Chester Council’s new transport strategy for Northwich, consultancy firm Mott MacDonald has given a timescale of 2026 to 2030 for the return of passenger services using the line to Sandbach.

Meanwhile, Cheshire East Council’s local transport plan – which is currently out for consultation – says Network Rail has identified a need to deliver the service after HS2, which is due to be completed in 2033.

Stephen Dent, chairman of the Mid Cheshire Rail Link (MCRL) campaign, said: “We feel that there is no reason why it should be delayed any further.

“The line is up and running already. It is such a simple task to do, it seems ridiculous that it should take another 10 years or so.

“The traffic in Middlewich is beyond a joke. Even if the proposed bypass takes a quarter of the traffic away there will still be long queues.”

Campaigners have been pushing for passenger trains to return to Middlewich for more than 25 years.

While CEC’s transport plan suggests that time will come after HS2, Stephen insists that makes little sense – and hopes the line would still be reopened should HS2 fail to materialise.

“It does not make sense to have a HS2 hub in Crewe and the line connecting to it opening afterwards – no one could get to it by train,” he added.

“I would like to think that if HS2 did not happen there would be money invested into the existing rail infrastructure which would mean we could still reopen the line.”

After failing to find a breakthrough directly with Network Rail, campaigners have made recent progress by meeting with MPs – and MCRL has now commissioned consultants to produce a report on reopening the line at the request of Chris Grayling, transport secretary.

That will be presented at a meeting with Transport for the North and the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership on Wednesday, May 30.

Cllr Michael Parsons, CEC member for Middlewich, thinks the timescale proposed is acceptable given the recent progress made.

“I’ve been involved in this for a long time and we would love to see it before then,” he said.

“But given the fight that we have had to go through to get to this stage, and we are now at the most advanced stage we have been, if it is to be that date I would take that.

“It would be suicide for us to try and fight that, so we have to go with it. We don’t really have a choice.”

Cllr Jonathan Parry, Labour member of Middlewich Town Council, believes talk of the line reopening in even 15 years could be premature.

He said: “At the end of the day where Middlewich is concerned, I take everything I hear with a pinch of salt.

“We have had so many promises that have failed to materialise – 10 years ago we were promised a bypass, and 10 years later we are being promised a bypass.

“Network Rail is operating as a business and it needs to make profit. Rather than looking at what the town’s needs are it will be looking at how much money it can make.”

MCRL will meet to discuss its own response to CEC’s local transport plan consultation, which runs until Monday, June 25, and Stephen hopes as many Middlewich residents as possible will also take part in it.

To have your say in the consultation visit surveys.cheshireeast.gov.uk/s/ltpresponse