BURNLEY and Accrington’s direct rail link to Manchester will begin on May 17, it has been announced.

The date, a Sunday, was declared by Burnley Council’s acting chief executive, Mick Cartledge, at a Burnley Bondholders event at Turf Moor yesterday.

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The long-awaited service along Todmorden Curve route will take 53 minutes from Burnley, with a return journey to Manchester Victoria costing £9.80, around 200 business leaders were told.

On Saturday, the Lancashire Telegraph reported how signalling work on the Todmorden Curve was due to be completed this coming weekend.

The faster Blackburn to Manchester service was initially due to open May 2014, but was delayed until December 2014 and then May 2015 by problems with rolling stock and signalling.

The route to Manchester will start in Blackburn and call at Accrington and the revamped Burnley Manchester Road station.

Neither Network Rail nor Northern Rail could confirm the date, but a Northern Rail spokeswoman said: “May 17 is the date when we are due to make any major timetable changes.”

Business and marketing consultant Lisa Durkin, who was at the packed meeting, said: “They seemed 99 per cent certain that May 17 would be the date.

“We were shown a ticket and told that Northern Rail now had the rolling stock in place that this was the date they were aiming for.

“That’s what 200 business people were told and everyone seemed really excited about it.”

The original opening date to begin the services had to be delayed from May 2014 until December 2014 when it was revealed there were no diesel trains available for the new service to start to timetable, despite the completion of the track.

In August, it emerged that while signals were installed at the south-western end of the curve, allowing a new Todmorden to Manchester service to be launched, the job was not completed around the junction heading from Burnley.

The delays prompted strong criticism from Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle and his Hyndburn counterpart Graham Jones.

The opening of the line has been hailed as a boost to business and tourism.

The Bondholders group, which has appointed Amber Corns as its new Burnley brand manager, hosted high-profile businesses from across the borough at Burnley FC’s James Hargreaves Suite yesterday.

Clarets manager Sean Dyche and chief executive Lee Hoos was among those who addressed the audience,