Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd has slammed the government for pulling its support for restoring the Bury to Rochdale rail line, describing it as "a kick in the teeth’.

The £500m "Restoring Your Railway Fund" aimed to reinstate axed local services and stations – with the application to restore the Bury to Rochdale, via Heywood, line being successful in the first round of funding.

At the time Mr Lloyd welcomed the opportunity to work up a business plan that could see the service back in action for the first time since 1970.

But he has been left furious after ministers confirmed the scheme would not be progressing any further due to "cost and wider capacity challenges".

The Labour MP said in a statement the news had come as a bitter blow.

He said: “Tram and rail services from Rochdale to Manchester provide transport to the city centre but it doesn’t provide the kind of connections we need to get around the city region, and in particular, from Rochdale and Heywood to Bury.

“While there are future plans for tram-train services between Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood and Bury, these are way down the line and Transport for Greater Manchester are still looking at ways on how to fund this which will only be made more difficult with the withdrawal of this support.”

Mr Lloyd accused the Conservative government of "talking big" on economic growth and levelling up – but failing to take the decisive action needed to help left behind areas.

“At the end of the day, it’s businesses and communities across Rochdale, and Heywood to Bury, which will lose out, not to mention the now-missed opportunities in reducing carbon emissions,” he said.

Mr Lloyd has urged the government to look at the decision again.

However, all may not be lost.

The government says that the scheme would be "best considered" as part of Greater Manchester’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) programme.

And that appears to be in line with Rochdale Council’s thinking on the issue.

Cllr John Blundell, cabinet member for economy and regeneration at Rochdale Council, said:  “We are sad to hear that the government isn’t funding rail schemes.

“However, we want them to fund our priorities which are a tram-train in between Heywood and Rochdale, a new station at Heywood that would allow heavy rail services to run from Heywood to Victoria.”

According to official papers the tram train is expected to open in 2029 under the CRSTS funding.

Cllr Blundell also points out the importance of the East Lancashire Railway (ELR), a hugely successful heritage attraction that runs between Rawtenstall and Heywood.

Heywood station was closed to normal passenger services in 1970 and has been used by the ELR since 2003.

“Whatever we do must be complementary to the ELR,” Cllr Blundell said. “The proposal of putting a fully operating passenger service on the line would put the ELR under threat and therefore was never a favourite of the [Rochdale] council.”