A HIGH LEVEL delegation has paid a visit to the potential site for a new railway station at Golborne.

The group included local MPs Andy Burnham,Ian McCartney and Neil Turner, the Chair of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, Cllr Roger Jones, and North West Rail Investment Campaign Co-ordinator Brian Simpson. There were also representatives from GMPTE, Wigan MBC., Merseytravel, Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority.

After taking a look at the potential station site, Cllr Jones said: "Our visit today was set up with the intention of helping us to assess the feasibility of a new rail station at Golborne. I'm sure all of us would agree that it has proved extremely useful and informative and has certainly helped us all to focus on the issues at hand.

"At this stage, it's important to emphasise that any plans for a new station have to be considered in relation to the current financial climate within the rail industry - which is making any new rail investment project very challenging to implement.

"Nevertheless, we are keen to assess all the options available and make sure local people's views are properly considered. We are already undertaking a wide ranging study into the transport needs of the area and will assess the case for a rail station at Golborne as part of that work. The ten district councils and the Authority have also developed the Greater Manchester Rail Plan, which sets out our aspirations for the local rail network - and research into a new station for Golborne is included in that Plan.

"Given the detailed issues involved, it's important that we have a strong local partnership in place and the fact that so many local agencies are represented here today is a positive step in itself. We will continue to develop this partnership over the coming weeks and months and will obviously keep local people fully informed of any progress we are able to make."

The Authority's recently commissioned public transport study is looking at local transport needs in the Golborne, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Culcheth and Newton-le-Willows area, and is due to report its findings in December.