HALF-hourly and quicker trains to Manchester from East Lancashire are just two of the ambitions outlined in a major new road and rail strategy published for the county.

No solution has yet been suggested though for how 'connectivity' can be improved between Lancashire and Yorkshire on the roads - with the M65 bypass scheme still on ice - as part of Lancashire Economic Partnership's transport prospectus.

Elsewhere it has been suggested that a substantially revamped Preston Railway Station, following on from the proposed HS2 high-speed rail link, will have knock-on benefits for East Lancashire.

But there is no timetable for when a number of suggested innovations, for the so-called 'Northern Powerhouse', including 'smart' motorways, will be extended to the east of the county.

Extra trains for the Clitheroe to Manchester corridor should arrive by December 2017, as previously reported by the Lancashire Telegraph. However it could be 2024 before electrification arrives for the East Lancashire line.

Bosses at the LEP have suggested the strategy, if eventually successful, could generate £185million per year countywide in productivity and create 15,000 new jobs.

County Cllr Jennifer Mein, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "The prospectus identifies our long-term strategic transport requirements and the opportunities and constraints on growth over the next twenty years, as well as the more immediate interventions needed to stimulate Lancashire’s latent potential."

She has confirmed that 'smart' ticketing, allowing people to travel from one side of the county to the other, will be implemented if Lancashire's bid for a slice of a £150million government fund finds favour.

Part of the prospectus identifies several other key transport initiatives backed by the LEP locally, such as the restoration of the Todmorden Curve, repairs to Burnley's Centenary Way viaduct, the £12million for Burnley Pendle Growth Corridor, which also includes Hyndburn, and is designed to tackle 'pinch-points' along the motorway, and the under-construction East Lancashire cycle network.

Future improvement projects, like the £3million Darwen East Distributor Road and improvements to the M65 and M66 'gateway' to East Lancashire are also discussed.

Edwin Booth, LEP chairman, said: "This report clearly shows how both existing and new funding for transport interventions will help us unlock a significant number of new jobs, new housing and new commercial development in Lancashire."

Rail bosses have stressed that journey times through the Todmorden Curve can only improve when timetables are re-arranged along the Calder Valley line, which cuts across the East Lancashire to Manchester route.