Councillor Lewis has supported the campaign to return the Derwent Valley Line to full service following its suspension by East Midlands Railway at the start of the pandemic.
The line saw a brief reinstatement in May 2021 but was once again cut shortly after and saw the train operator blamed the cut due to a lack of rolling stock and high levels of staff absence due to covid alongside operational issues.
The service had been in operation since 2008 and its removal saw passengers travelling from Matlock to Nottingham having to change at Derby which saw their journey times double.
July 2021 saw a petition calling for the service to be returned and collected over 10,000 signatures, Councillor Lewis's efforts joining the campaigners saw Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire MPs, Derwent Valley Community Rail Partnership and The Friends of Derwent Valley Line demand the reinstatement of the service to pre-pandemic levels.
Belper Town Council and Derwent Valley Community Rail Partnership organised two very well-attended public meetings and Councillor Lewis met with East Midlands Railway management at County Hall in Matlock advising them to listen to the community and to take action.
Further efforts by Councillor Lewis involved lobbying Government and writing to a number of rail ministers and Transport Secretaries since 2021. May last year saw the Councillor work with Derby City Council Leader Councillor Chris Poulter who write to the then Secretary of State for Transport Grant Schapps detailing the importance of the service for the local community and calling for him to intervene so that the line could be reinstated as soon as possible.
East Midlands Railway did return through services from Matlock to Nottingham in May 2022 on Sundays and December 2022 saw the return of three morning and three evening peak time through services from Monday to Friday. Campaigners including Councillor Lewis did not feel that this fully addressed the full reinstatement and continued their work to see the service completely returned to pre pandemic levels.
The 8th of February 2023 saw East Midlands Railway finally confirm that all day, through service will operate seven days a week and will return in May as part of its timetable changes.
Councillor Barry Lewis said: “I am extremely pleased to hear that EMR is to reinstate the full through service between Matlock and Nottingham as its withdrawal has had a major impact on the area, our residents, businesses and visitors, with a knock-on to the local economy and our tourism trade.
“The effect on people's everyday lives, for example getting to work or to school and college has been significant and has really taken its toll.
“Thanks must go to the officers at the county council who have used their expertise and worked very hard on this to ensure a positive outcome.
“It's to be welcomed that EMR has listened to the many thousands of people, groups and organisations, including Derbyshire County Council, who have called for this important service to be reinstated and it really can't come soon enough.”
Local businesses are delighted with the news and Rupert Pugh, development director at Heights of Abraham in Matlock Bath said: “We are delighted and relieved to hear the news.
“The service from Matlock to Nottingham is of key importance to the local community and to us here at the Heights of Abraham.
“Train services really do help to reduce the number of cars on the road, especially as many Matlock Bath and Heights visitors do come from the Nottingham area.
“The May reinstatement coincides with special events planned here at the Heights, so it's great that we can now promote the train route alongside our events.”
