Good point. Like I said everyone on here knows ALOT more than myself about the network.
I take it they are terminating the service at Blackburn due to the fact it has the capacity to reverse the train??
Im just wondering what the time difference will be in terms of Blackburn> via the curve> Manc Victoria as apposed to the current Blackburn > Victoria service?
Thanks again.
Blackburn certainly has more capacity for reversing a train than Accrington (Blackburn has 3 platforms with access to the eastbound tracks, Accrington has one westbound & one eastbound & I am not sure there is even a crossover).
Running to Blackburn also has the advantage of providing a more frequent service within E.Lancs between 3 large towns. In my experience the buses are slow and tedious. Burnley Manchester Road is a 10 min walk uphill from the town centre but Accrington & Blackburn stations are well sited close to the town centres.
I am not sure whether a provisional timetable has yet been published but these are my estimates from the existing Calder Valley & Yorks-Blackpool timetables, assuming a limited stop journey:-
Man Vic-Todmorden 25 mins
Todmorden-Burnley probably 15 mins since the timing from Hebden Br is 22-24 mins
Burnley-Blackburn 16 mins
which makes a through journey from Blackburn to Man Vic this way about 56 mins, probably slower than via Bolton, but since the existing service via Bolton is only hourly it might still be more attractive than waiting (depending on how the departures are spaced) or indeed taking a bus. Todmorden-Burnley will be less than half the bus timing but both the stations are only accessed by an uphill walk! Burnley-Man Vic & Burnley-Rochdale will be much quicker than any existing bus. Blackburn & Accrington will have a direct train to Rochdale for almost the first time in living memory.