The latest news from the Skipton East Lancashire Railway Action Partnership


Reopening the line from Skipton to Colne has won backing from Lancashire County Council which will provide £10,000 towards a feasibility study.

The study is needed as part of Network Rail’s GRIP 3 procedure, which governs investment in railway projects.

The Skipton East Lancashire Railway Action Partnership believes it has secured a further £6,000 from Pendle Borough Council and will seek more from other partners, including Railfuture.

SELRAP chairman Derek Jennings has thanked the ARUP team in Leeds for help and advice in producing earlier GRIP reports and thanked SELRAP members for their huge support for the appeal so far.

Another appeal will be made to progress the engineering study to clear the way for the line to be reopened as part of a major cross-Pennine route linking Liverpool to Hull.

Liaison officer Andy Shackleton said the 1B study undertaken by ARUP and completed in February, showed a promising benefits to cost ratio. For every £1 spent there could be benefits worth up to £6.50.

Lancashire county councillor Azhar Ali believes the Skipton-Colne line will benefit the local economy, but is also of regional and national importance.

More information:

Burnley Express

Yorkshire Post

SELRAP