LONDON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- It's a small-town railway station,
off the beaten track in a far-flung corner of remote Northern
England. It stands at the gateway to one of Britain's most
mountainous areas, the scenic Lake District.
Despite its remoteness the station is regarded by many as the
most romantic railway station in Britain, perhaps even the world.
Couples make the long pilgrimage to Carnforth to propose marriage,
others make a detour on their honeymoon.
And it is all to do with a British film made 70 years ago which
showed two of the country's superstars of the 1940s parting on the
platform of Carnforth station as they realise their illicit love
affair has to end. Their encounters took place beneath the large
old fashioned station clock in the station's refreshment room that
keeps good time to this day.
Next year sees the 70th anniversary of the making of the famous
romantic film, Brief Encounter which stunned nation as World War
Two drew to a close.
The kisses and embraces, with pin-up star Trevor Howard locked
in romantic clinches with leading lady Celia Johnson - him playing
a doctor, her in the part of a married, middle class housewife -
are still talked about today. Even today fans of the film debate
about whether the pair actually consummated their illicit
relationship.
The fate of Carnworth Station this week generated a major debate
in the Houses of Parliament, with numerous references made in the
historic chamber to that famous storyline love affair.
The local Member of Parliament David Morris on thursday won the
debate in the British Parliament to ask for the full-length
platforms at the famous station to be re-instated.
Currently the station is used as a modest branch line to connect
with mainline trains in the nearby city of Lancaster.
But thanks to a team of volunteers and fund raisers Carnforth
Station is enjoying a renaissance among travellers and fans of the
epic film.
Morris reminded MPs that In the 1940s, Carnforth was a bustling
junction station connecting the north, south, east and west of the
country. But the demise of the steam trains in the 1960s led to the
station being downgraded.
He told politicians: "The station has a rich history. The
station clock is an iconic part of that film - I am sure that many
MPs are familiar with the romantic scenes that occurred in front of
it."
More than 5,000 people have signed a public petition to
Parliament calling for the station's original status, with full
length platforms, to be re-instated.
Another MP, Lilian Greenwood, even recited some of the lines
from the film, recalling that Celia Johnson's character described
the station refreshment room "the most ordinary place in the
world".
She added one line uttered by the leading lady in the film as
she agonised over her torment: "This can't last. This misery can't
last."
Latest figures from Britain's Rail Regulator show that 2067,000
passengers used Carnforth station this year, 40,000 more than in
2010.
Although the station is legendary among fans of 'Brief
Encounter' the politicians say the upgrading of the station is
aimed at improving the economic vitality of the area.
Whether the station will be fully re-instated to its 1940s glory
days has yet to be decided. Enditem
