Call to reopen Colne to Skipton railway link

BBC News, 26th July 2024

Reopening the Colne to Skipton railway link to enable new fast train services  between east Lancashire, Bradford and Leeds, must be looked at urgently, councillors have been told.

The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) campaign group, which wants the link reopened, should also be involved in talks, Lib Dem councillor Tom Whipp said.

He made the call at Pendle Council’s latest full meeting after Labour winning the general election.

The area has new Labour MPs, Jonathan Hinder, who represents the new constituency of Pendle and Clitheroe while Oliver Ryan represents Burnley, including Brierfield.

The meeting was considering the council's priorities and its relationship with the new MPs.

Colne to Skipton railway link was closed in the early 1970s, but campaigners including various councils, politicians, the SELRAP group  and business leaders want it reconnected.

They said the whole of east Lancashire including Pendle, Hyndburn and Burnley would particularly benefit from better rail connections to West Yorkshire’s big cities along with better links to Preston and western Lancashire.

They said East Lancashire’s economy, jobs market, education, property values and leisure opportunities all suffer from poor railway links.

The current stretch at Colne, Nelson and Brierfield is mainly just a single track which further restricts the number of train services, the campaigners said.

In contrast, they said, lines connecting Skipton to Leeds and Bradford, and also north to the Settle-Carlisle line are multi-track with regular, well-used trains.

Key sections to Leeds and Bradford are also electrified from Skipton.

Mr Whipp said: “I think we should also commit the council to supporting the reopening and create a meeting with SELRAP to discuss how the campaign can be supported.

"It could be years or months, depending if we get support from the government.”