New Year Transport Update

The big day arrives! Puffins will recall a previous unread article, Christmas Transport Catastrophe. This detailed the railway and motorway closures and diversions required as a West Coast Mainline bridge is being replaced over the M6 at Clifton, just south of Penrith in the extreme, hard, far, ultra north of England.

Every cloud has a silver lining. The diversions means replacement mainline trains will avoid the disruption by going from Carlisle to Preston via the Settle & Carlisle and Ribble Valley lines. What’s more, rather than the bus-on-rail type services that use the scenic S&C, these will be proper trains with first class seating and a restaurant car – or at least at-seat hot food for first class passengers.

Wouldn’t that day out opportunity be a nice present for the long-suffering wife of a little boy who loves the iron road and writes articles for Going Postal? Yes, it would. Step forward and take your well-deserved reward, Mrs AWS. Skilful manipulation of the timetable, our Two Together card, and booking in advance means that not only is our trip less than extortionate, but we can get there and back in Pennine and Eden Valley daylight. All booked up, the big day now arrives. Nothing can go wrong. But first, some background.

The Settle to Carlisle line, completed in 1876, is a historic railway stretching 73 miles through the rugged landscapes of northern England, connecting Settle in North Yorkshire to Carlisle in Cumbria. Built by the Midland Railway, it was a monumental engineering feat of the Victorian era, featuring impressive viaducts, tunnels, and sweeping curves across the North Pennines.

The route was intended to compete with other northern routes and facilitate the carriage of coal and goods, but it gained fame for its scenic beauty. Despite threats of closure in the 1980s, preservation efforts saved the line, cementing its status as both a vital transport link and a symbol of industrial heritage.

Today the Settle-Carlisle carries regular Northern passenger services between Leeds and the Great Border City with about seven trains each weekday – albeit of the bus-on-rails kind. Also used for freight, aggregates from quarries at Horton-in-Ribblesdale and Ribblehead is carried to destinations across the north of England. Other commodities travel the route, such as timber from the Scottish forests to Chirk and cement from Clitheroe.

As every pedant knows, in fact the S&C first opened in August 1875, but only for goods traffic. Passenger services began afterwards, around April/May 1876, and connected Leeds to Scotland via this new, scenic Midland line. Construction had started in 1869 and took seven years.

Not a branch line but a main line, the S&C carried crack expresses such as the Thames-Clyde Express. This joined London St Pancras with Glasgow St Enoch’s (and laterly Glasgow Central) until withdrawal of the service in 1976 – the centenary of the introduction of passenger trains on the line.

Moving forward to the present day, the 150th anniversary is being celebrated with a wide range of heritage, community, and educational events. Special steam and charter services, for instance the Border City Express from Bradford to Carlisle, highlight the historic journey. Station and signal box open days at Settle, Armathwaite, and other locations offer guided tours, family activities, and local festivities. Enthusiasts participated in the Spirit of the Settle–Carlisle photo competition, with winning images featured in a 2026 calendar.

Digital engagement is promoted through the Traxplorer app, providing historical information and interactive experiences. Freight history is commemorated with the reopening of the Horton quarry rail link and the unveiling of a special GBRf locomotive named Settle & Carlisle 150. Throughout the year, community-led events, themed walks, exhibitions, and seasonal celebrations organised by the Friends of the Settle–Carlisle Line, ensure both locals and visitors can engage with the railway’s rich heritage and scenic landscapes.

As for those diversions, they began on the first of January 2026 and proved to be a bit of a mixed bag, consisting of delayed running, cancellations and replacement bus services to Oxenholme (to connect with a TransPennine Express service to Preston). The day before our trip, our train, the 09:24, did run but left an hour late.

The one back departed well after the scheduled time and got later and later. So late that I had to give up checking it on Real Time Trains to go to football. Eagle-eyed Puffins with photographic memories will recall half of our team work at the Post Office and the others on the railway. After telling the railwaymen the exciting news of our outing the next day, there was mention of problems with piping freezing on the trains, alongside the promise of a wave from the power box as we went past.

Sure enough, it being -3 during the night and with storm Goretti expected, as myself and Mrs AWS were putting on our extra layers the following morning, I received an email saying the 09:24 is cancelled. Booo. The communication added that we could use the two previous or next Avanti services, but there would be no reservations and no guarantee of first class seats or any food.

Having a look at the timetable shows that even if the next service is running (which it might not be) or late (which it will be), we’d be lucky to get our train back. Subsequent departures would be in the dark, likewise without reservations, accommodation in First, or catering. Match abandoned.

I clicked the button for a refund; another fiddly carry-on, but I’ve had to do it so many times… Puffins will recall our chaperoning trip to London; Storm Floris on the way down, a gazebo on the overhead wires near Stafford on the way back.

For this refund, they not only wanted pictures of my tickets, but also pictures of them cut up. They don’t trust me, do they!?

Every cloud. As Mrs AWS peeled off several layers of clothing and began untying her big winter boots, she didn’t look as crestfallen as a disappointed wife might. Travelling the Pennines on an unreliable train during a cold snap, while listening to me all day long, might not have been the perfect Christmas gift after all.

Also, within minutes (rather than 20 working days), I receive my refund. It’s as if Avanti Trains weren’t keen on my comany either!

Oh well, Google Maps to the rescue:

 

© Always Worth Saying 2026