Grayling says rail line could reopen
Grayling’s change of direction
Campaigners have welcomed an announcement by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling of a feasibility study to be carried out into the potential reopening of the Skipton-Colne line.
CAMPAIGNERS AND business leaders have claimed that the reopening of a historic railway line linking Yorkshire with Lancashire would provide a major boost to the economy and improved transport links.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has announced that a feasibility study will be carried out into the potential reopening of the Skipton-Colne railway line.
The line, which dates back to the 1840s, was closed in 1970 under cuts to rail services, but could be restored after years of campaigning if it is deemed to be economically viable.
Re-opening the 12-mile route could create a faster rail link across the Pennines and lead to new passenger services between Lancashire, Skipton and Leeds.
Mr Grayling’s announcement during a visit to Colne on Saturday was welcomed by the Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP), which was formed in 2001 to campaign for the line to be reopened.
SELRAP’s media officer Jane Wood said: “We are delighted with the announcement and we’re confident that the study will show that the line is feasible and meets all the criteria. There are economic and social benefits.”
The company behind Drax power station, near Selby, is among business supporters of moves to reinstate the line.
Drax Power’s chief executive Andy Koss said: “Reopening the Skipton to Colne route to rail freight as well as passenger travel would have a significant impact for business across the North of England, slashing travel times and increasing productivity in the process.
“It will have a direct impact on improving our supply chain at Drax, allowing freight trains to travel much more quickly to the power station in North Yorkshire, reducing journey times from the Port of Liverpool to less than three hours, a journey which can take up to nine hours at the moment. As a nation we can benefit from a fast, efficient railway that allows more free movement of goods between manufacturers, their distribution hubs and their markets across the North of England and beyond.”
The Government has said it will look at opportunities to restore links lost under the Beeching and British Rail cuts of the 1960s and 1970s. The feasibility study for the Skipton-Colne line is being co-commissioned by the Department for Transport and Transport for the North and is due to be completed later in 2018.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee’s chairman Coun Keith Wakefield said: “Transforming east-west links for passengers and freight across the North of England is one of the keys to unlocking the full economic potential of the Leeds City Region and a reopened Skipton-Colne railway line could play a role.
“We welcome this feasibility study as a sensible step to better understand the financial and engineering implications as well as the economic and social benefits which could be delivered if this project was taken forward.”
We are confident that the study will show the line is feasible. Jane Wood, media officer for Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership.
IN LIEU of Chris Grayling’s repeated snubs of Yorkshire and the North, it would be disingenuous not to welcome the Transport Secretary’s official study into the feasibility of reopening the Skipton to Colne railway line that was closed in 1970. It has been long argued by campaigners that the revival of this 12mile route could transform the economic fortunes of the communities along the line and make it easier for people to travel between Yorkshire and Lancashire, and then make onward connections.
The potential benefits do not end here. Industry leaders suggest that this line could carry freight, thereby easing pressure on the existing TransPennine route which cannot meet passenger demand because it is already operating at capacity between Leeds and Manchester. In this regard, the proposal needs to be viewed in the widest possible economic and social context. The question, however, is whether the cost-benefit analysis will meet the Department for Transport’s strict criteria – this is the primary reason why infrastructure investment remains so heavily skewed in favour of London and the SouthEast – and whether the DfT now intends to show greater pragmatism.
And the questions for Mr Grayling do not end here. Who has the final say – Transport for the North or the DfT? How will the scheme be funded if it is given the green light? And why isn’t the Transport Secretary assessing the reopening the Beverley to York line which could also be transformative for Yorkshire? Given his record thus far, he has a long way to go before he starts winning back all of the trust that he’s lost here in the past year.