The Edale mountain rescue train will be unique

The Edale mountain rescue train will be unique

A Peak District mountain rescue team is on track to reduce its response times by an innovative use of railways in its area.

Edale Mountain Rescue Team said increasing traffic is making it difficult for its volunteer members to reach incidents.

It is in negotiations with train operators to use their services to get team members to incidents.

The Hope Valley and Sheffield lines run through the team’s area, and the volunteer rescuers intend to use the railway as a platform to deliver its lifesaving service.

A team spokesperson said: “Negotiations are currently in the final stages for the team to procure a train which will be based at Grindleford Station.

“It will be available during busy periods to transport team members and a Land Rover between Grindleford and Edale.

“Special permission has been sought from Network Rail for the train to stop at the nearest location to an incident from where it will deploy the vehicle and team members.”

Team leader Ian Bunting said: “This will be the first emergency service of its type in the country and will ensure that we can get to incidents quickly during the busy summer periods.

“While we appreciate it may be a slight inconvenience to other rail users whilst they wait for the MRT train to deploy team members, we hope they will see the benefit and the valuable service provided to those in need.”

The team said it hoped the train will be fully operational within the next few weeks ready for the busy summer period.

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