Rail campaign group welcomes Colne-Skipton link priority

Lancashire Telegraph, 6th May 2026

Bill Jacobs, Local Democracy Reporter

The buffers at Colne railway station. (Image: Bill Jacobs)

The inclusion of the long‑awaited extension of the East Lancashire line from Colne to Skipton as a priority for the new Lancashire Combined County Authority has been welcomed by the group campaigning for the reopening of the 12‑mile Trans‑Pennine route.

It is high on a lengthy list of projects in the devolved body’s first Local Transport Plan (LTP) Implementation Plan outlining its road, rail and active travel strategy up to 2045.

David Penney, an executive member of The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP), said the move would provide accessible integrated and interconnected transport in the area.

The LTP implementation plan also identifies the creation of a new railway station in Blackburn with Darwen at either Ewood or Lower Darwen as a priority for the new Lancashire Combined County Authority.

The LCCA is a partnership between Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council, which takes over some powers and funding currently administered by central government as part of devolution.

The Colne–Skipton line extension has been the subject of a long campaign for the route, closed in the early 1970s, to be reinstated, giving a direct rail link from East Lancashire to Yorkshire and Leeds.

The project is top of the list of ‘Connecting Lancashire’ schemes in the blueprint, which says it would cost more than £150 million and take more than 10 years to complete.

In the ‘feasibility’ category, the LTP says it would open ‘a new trans‑Pennine rail route, relieving congestion on the Calder Valley, Standedge and Hope Valley routes, providing an alternative east–west route for freight traffic, also increasing the frequency of passenger services between Preston and Leeds, and potentially reducing journey times and opening up East Lancashire to electrified suburban passenger services to and from Leeds’.

Mr Penney said: “The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership welcomes Lancashire Combined County Authority’s support for the SELRAP scheme as it will provide accessible integrated and interconnected public rail and bus transport services in urban and rural East Lancashire and beyond.

“The Transport Implementation Plan recognises the national importance of rail connectivity as the key driver for economic growth, as well as promoting rail travel to reduce pollution on roads and meet the targets for the decarbonisation of transport in delivering such a transport service.”

Other projects identified as ‘development’ priorities include improvements to rail infrastructure between Blackpool and Colne and the restoration of passenger services to the Clitheroe–Hellifield railway line — currently freight only.