Editing Calder Valley line (section)

===Blackpool route===
Trains continue up the Calder valley to [[Burnley]] and [[Blackburn]]; it also runs parallel with the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] from Burnley. The section from Todmorden to Burnley (often called the '''Copy Pit line'''<!--redirects here-->)  was opened by the Manchester and Leeds Railway (later L&YR) on 12 November 1849.  The East Lancashire Railway (later L&YR) built the Burnley to Preston line, Burnley to Accrington 18 September 1848, Accrington to Blackburn 19 June 1848, and the Blackburn to Preston section on 1 June 1846.

The Rose Grove–Todmorden (Hall Royd) local service over this route ended in 1965, the only passenger services thereafter being a daily Leeds–Blackpool train.  In mid-1982 the last tanker train travelled over the line, with the expectation of closure shortly after.  A turning point came when the National and Provincial Building Society moved staff from Burnley to Bradford.  The Society arranged for a Preston–Bradford Interchange train to be run to move staff from their home base to Bradford offices.  In October 1984 British Rail developed this into five trains each way between Leeds and Preston with one extended to Blackpool.<ref>Batty, Stephen R., British Rail at Work: West Yorkshire, 1987, pp. 70–71</ref>

====Todmorden curve====
The Todmorden curve is a {{convert|440|yd|m|adj=on}} section of track at Hall Royd Junction in Todmorden which was lifted in 1972. Originally Hall Royd Junction was triangular, and the lifted curve allowed services from Burnley to reach Manchester via Todmorden (regular services over it had ceased in November 1965). Reinstating the curve was a priority for Lancashire County Council and was ranked as the most important project in its 2010 Rail Improvement Schemes draft report.<ref>{{cite news |work=Rail |location=Peterborough |issue=641 |pages=16–17 |title= Todmorden and Fleetwood top Lancashire's rail list |date=7 April 2010}}</ref> The government stated in March 2010 that reinstating the link would cost around £7&nbsp;million and any new rail services would require initial subsidy.<ref name="pendletoday">{{cite news |newspaper=Pendle Today |location=Nelson |url=http://www.pendletoday.co.uk/nelsonnews/7m-upfront-price-tag-for.6174177.jp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421033346/http://www.pendletoday.co.uk/nelsonnews/7m-upfront-price-tag-for.6174177.jp |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=£7m. upfront price tag for Todmorden Curve rail link |date=23 March 2010 |access-date=10 April 2010 }}</ref> Burnley [[Member of Parliament|MP]] [[Kitty Ussher]] wrote to the [[North West Development Agency]] to seek assurance that it could find the money.<ref name="pendletoday"/> In October 2010 Network Rail agreed to pay for the final assessment of the plans.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.railwayherald.org/magazine/pdf/RHUK/Issue241.pdf |title=UK News In Brief |magazine=Railway Herald |issue=241 |page=5 |date=4 October 2010 |access-date=6 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009150521/http://www.railwayherald.org/magazine/pdf/RHUK/Issue241.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> This assessment, completed in May 2011, concluded that it could be feasible to reinstate the curve, although the original route could not be used as the original curve was deemed to be too sharp. An alternative route was instead put forward, and it was stated that, if funds could be obtained by early 2012 to carry forward the project, the curve could be back in use by the end of 2013.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9032186.Burnley_s_Todmorden_Curve_line_could_be_running_by_2013/ |title =Todmorden Curve could be running by 2013 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |location =Blackburn |author=Moseley, Tom |date=17 May 2011 |access-date= 18 May 2011}}</ref>

On 31 October 2011, the deputy Prime Minister announced that the scheme would be given the go-ahead.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9335117.Major_boost_as___9million_rail_link_cash_announced_for_Burnley/ |title= Major boost as £9million rail link cash announced for Burnley |date=31 October 2011 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |location =Blackburn |author= Magill, Peter |access-date=2 November 2011}}</ref>

Construction work began in summer 2013, and the curve was planned to be available for the May 2014 timetable change.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/9846944.Todmorden_Curve_journeys_to_start_after_May_2014/ |title= Todmorden Curve journeys to start after May 2014 |work= Lancashire Telegraph |date= 31 July 2012 |access-date=4 July 2013 |location= Blackburn}}</ref> The track was completed and tested in May 2014, and services began on 17 May 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/local/campaigners-hope-curve-will-spring-into-life-1-6884509 |title=Campaigners hope curve will spring into life |date=15 October 2014 |work=Todmorden News |access-date=22 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122160518/http://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/local/campaigners-hope-curve-will-spring-into-life-1-6884509 |archive-date=22 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northernrail.org/todmorden-curve |title=New direct train services between Accrington, Burnley and Manchester  |publisher=Northern Rail |access-date=17 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518124436/http://www.northernrail.org/todmorden-curve |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Original stations====
Many stations on this route have been closed (or are not served by the Calder Valley line trains): original stations served and other notes on the route:
* ''Hall Royd Junction'': see above; there are now no stations on the route before Burnley; stations once served, and notes on the route:
* here is the junction with the original line from Todmorden (to Burnley), forming a triangle (closed 1972, but reopened in 2015).
* [[Stansfield Hall railway station|Stansfield Hall]] station opened 1869, closed July 1944
* here is ''Kitsonwood Tunnel'' (290 yards)
* Nott Wood (Lydgate) viaduct
* [[Cornholme railway station|Cornholme]] station closed to all traffic 26 September 1938
* [[Portsmouth railway station (West Yorkshire)|Portsmouth]] closed 7 July 1958
* Copy Pit summit (749&nbsp;ft)
* Holme Tunnel (265 yards)
* [[Holme railway station (Lancashire)|Holme]]: closed 28 July 1930
* Towneley Tunnel (398 yards)
* [[Towneley railway station|Towneley]]: serving the nearby ''Towneley Hall'', closed 4 August 1952
* [[Burnley Manchester Road railway station|Burnley Manchester Road]] station: (there are also ''Burnley Barracks'' and ''Burnley Central'' see below)
* Gannow Junction where the line joins from Colne, Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley Central and Burnley Barracks
* [[Rose Grove railway station|Rose Grove]] has an island platform with 2 disused bay platforms.
* here was the ''Rose Grove Junction'' for the [[North Lancashire Loop]], an alternative route to Blackburn via [[Padiham railway station|Padiham]], [[Simonstone railway station|Simonstone]] and [[Great Harwood railway station|Great Harwood]] (closed to passengers 2 December 1957)
* [[Hapton railway station|Hapton]]
* [[Huncoat railway station|Huncoat]]
* [[Accrington railway station|Accrington]]
* here was the triangular junction for the line to [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]] (closed 5 December 1966)
* [[Church and Oswaldtwistle railway station|Church and Oswaldtwistle]]
* [[Rishton railway station|Rishton]]
* Rishton Tunnel
* here was the other end of the line from Burnley at ''Great Harwood Junction''
* Blackburn Tunnel