Our news
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A new campaign is launched
From Derbyshire Times, 30 September 2024 Former CEO of the Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership (MEMRAP), Stephen Chaytow has now taken on a new challenge to lead The Campaign for the Peak Line (CPL). This campaign calls for the reinstatement and upgrade of the Peak Line between Ambergate Junction to Buxton and Chinley via Matlock,…
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Growing support for reinstating our railway shown at Belper meeting
There are just three weeks left until the elections for the first ever East Midlands mayor. On 8th April, at the Strutts Centre in Belper, the Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership (MEMRAP) had the opportunity to pitch its proposals for the reinstatement of the Peaks and Dales Line in front of a packed…
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Belper – 8th April 2024
MEMRAP’s next public meeting is at the Strutts Centre in Belper on Monday 8th April, at 6pm. Free tickets can be booked from MEMRAP’s website.
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Response to Green Signals podcast – in which we explain some strategic benefits
Note to readers: if you haven’t yet come across the excellent Green Signals podcast the relevant episode is here: ‘Reversing Beeching’:Anything achieved? Thank you to Nigel Harris and Richard Bowker for another interesting podcast. We heard that reinstating railways is expensive, and that Richard is doubtful that they make sense when they cover territories populated…
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Will anybody use the train?
A common argument used against the reinstatement of the Peaks and Dales line is that not many people will use the railway once it’s rebuilt. Possibly these people have looked at a map and noticed that there are relatively few people living along the 13 missing miles from Rowsley to Buxton, and drawn the erroneous…
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MEMRAP Public Presentation – Whaley Bridge, 8th Feb 2024 – Post event summary
Thank you to Lindsay Rogers from MEMRAP for the following account and photos of the event. The cold snap of wintry weather proved off-putting for many for the latest public presentation on the campaign for the reinstatement of the former Midland Railways mainline through the Peaks & Dales of Derbyshire, at the excellent venue of…
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But wait, how do I get to the station?
Another question that usually comes up when discussing the reinstatement of the Peaks and Dales line, is ‘how will I get to my local station?’ The answer, of course, is the same way you decide how to get anywhere you want to go. Is your destination close enough to walk? Have you got lots of…
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Oh, the places you’ll go – if you’ve got a car
You have brains in your head.You have feet in your shoes.You can steer yourselfAny direction you choose. Oh, the Places You’ll go – Dr SeuSS Imagine the residents of the Derbyshire Dales, enthusiastically taking Dr Seuss’s advice: A group of old friends living between Buxton and Matlock meet regularly in Bakewell. A woman in…
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No, the quarries aren’t funding this campaign, and why we wish they were
It is a curious fact that whenever you gather a group of people to talk about reinstating the railway, somebody will ask if the quarries are paying for the campaign. This could have been true six years ago, when a consortium of major quarry companies together with Peak Rail, the heritage railway operator in Matlock,…
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What is the East Midlands Mayoral Election and why is it important for transport?
Assuming the relevant legislation is passed by Parliament, spring this year should see the creation of the East Midlands Combined County Authority. This mouthful will be a new layer of regional government covering the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and the cities of Derby and Nottingham, altogether a population of 2.2 million people. Some funding…