FIONA Bruce MP has said that reopening Middlewich’s train station is her priority for the town.

Campaigners have now collected more than 1,600 signatures in a petition urging for the Northwich to Sandbach line to be upgraded for passengers.

Fiona has agreed to present the petition to Parliament in the autumn.

She said: “This is a tremendous number of signatures which shows the strength of support for the reopening of Middlewich Station to passengers among local people.

“I pay tribute to the retailers of Middlewich in particular who have worked so hard to obtain this number of signatures in a relatively short period.

“This will enable me apply to the Speaker of the House of Commons to present this petition to Parliament in the autumn and it would be wonderful if we could reach the target number of 2,000 signatures by then.”

Reopening the line through Middlewich would cost around £2million and a feasibility study released in July 2009 revealed that the benefit would be five times greater than the price.

Cheshire East Council has recently been awarded £3.5million from the Government for its local sustainable transport fund Middlewich Rail Link Campaign members are hoping that a portion of that money can go towards the project.

Clr Mike Parsons, ward member for Middlewich, has requested a meeting with cabinet members Clr Rod Menlove and Clr Jamie Macrae.

Harry Boardman, a member of the Rail Link Campaign, added “There are substantial benefits to the region as a whole from opening this line.

“It would provide cross county connectivity unseen by Cheshire for more than half a century.”

Cheshire East Council had not commented as the Guardian went to press.

Middlewich Rail Link Campaign's petition is available to sign at the library, the Victoria Buildings and various shops in Wheelock Street.