On Tuesday 11th September, Andrew Stephenson MP hosted a meeting in Parliament to brief MP’s on the latest news on the re-opening of the Colne-Skipton railway line.
This follows the announcement in February by the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling MP, of funding for a feasibility study into the reopening the Colne to Skipton line that was closed back in 1970. That study will be concluded later this year, with the outcome published in the New Year. If the study shows a strong case for the reopening, it will then be up to Government Ministers to decide if the scheme should progress.
The meeting was attended by both Lancashire and Yorkshire MP’s including Julian Smith the MP for Skipton and Ripon, Craig Whittaker MP for Calder Valley and John Grogan MP for Keighley, demonstrating broad cross-party support.
At the meeting representatives from the Department of Transport, Transport for the North, Network Rail and the SELRAP campaign group briefed those present on the latest news about the study into the reopening of the line.
Following the meeting Andrew Stephenson MP, who has been a Patron of the SELRAP campaign since 2010, said “The reopening of this railway line is something I have been pushing for ever since being first elected in 2010 and would be a real boost to our area. This was a really positive meeting, where broad support for the re-opening was expressed and those who have been looking into the various challenges re-opening would face all said that so far no major stumbling blocks has been identified. I would like to pay tribute to SELRAP for organising the meeting and everyone for attending. Working to improve road and rail links to Pendle remains my top priority.”