EAST Lancashire's steam railway could soon be used for regular train services, it was revealed today.

The East Lancashire Partnership -- made up of councils and and other organisations -- believes there is enough demand for commuters travelling to Manchester from Rossendale to warrant regular daily services.

The East Lancashire Line has not carried daily passenger services since 1972, and freight trains stopped using the line in 1980.

Since then it has been preserved by steam train enthusiasts and turned into a tourist attraction running from Bury to Rawtenstall.

However, the connection between Bury Bolton St station and Manchester has been lost, meaning trains have been unable to run all the way into Manchester.

But the re-opening of a stretch of line between Bury and Heywood has meant that the East Lancashire Railway is once again connected to Britain's rail network, opening up the possibility of regular train services again.

And although services were axed in the 1970s because there was not enough demand for them, like the Blackburn to Clitheroe line, which re-opened in the 1990s, ELP bosses are confident that has changed.

Dennis Taylor, chief executive of the ELP, said: "There are a lot of people who commute into Manchester every day and the possibility of getting regular train services on the East Lancashire Railway is something we are investigating."

Options for train services could include a service which runs from Rawtenstall to Bury, with people commuting to Manchester then using the Metro tram service.

Alternatively, services could be operated via the Heywood extension. In theory, services to any part of the country could be operated via that extension from Rossendale.

The ELP, which is reviewing public transport across East Lancashire, would have to prove to rail operators there was a demand for services or put a case to an organisation like the Strategic Rail Authority, which will subsidise services to a point if there is a social need.

Nobody was available to comment today from the East Lancashire Light Railway Company, which operates steam services at weekends throughout the year and daily during August.

It leases the track from the The East Lancashire Railway Trust, which took control of the line after its commercial use ended.

But their website does state that: "The Heywood link is now in place as a link to the national rail network, and should be open for passenger traffic sometime in the near future."