NEW talks could be held about expanding rail links between East Lancashire, the Yorkshire Dales and Manchester after the government cancelled the northern leg of the high speed HS2 project, councillors have heard.

Conservative Cllr Stephen Atkinson told a Ribble Valley full council meeting potential improvements around Hellifield railway station could boost Ribble Valley train services to the north and south.

Hellifield has a junction where rail lines meet from Lancashire and Yorkshire on the Settle-Carlisle route.

Council leader Cllr Atkinson said: “In the summer, myself and Nicola Hopkins, the council’s director of economic development and planning, and others had a meeting about Hellifield station. 

"It included government transport minister Huw Merriman’s adviser,  Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans and representatives of Lancashire County Council and North Yorkshire Council.

“The purpose was to show how the restoration of regular trains at Hellifield could benefit the Ribble Valley and East Lancashire. This would improve education and employment opportunities, support inward migration and the retention of young people, and support access to the Yorkshire Dales, Manchester and Clitheroe.”

Previously some Hellifield rail development ideas had not progressed through a government transport funding scheme called Restoring Your Railways.

But Cllr Atkinson said: “I have suggested another meeting and we have recently had the announcement from the Prime Minister, regarding the railway network.”

At the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the HS2 link to Manchester was being scrapped. Instead,  £36 billion would be redirected into other transport projects, he said.

Mr Sunak announced a new ‘Northern Network’ and outlined ambitions including a new Bradford rail station and fast links to Manchester, better rail links between Manchester and Liverpool, and better east-west rail links across the north. Other ambitions included expanding Blackpool’s trams and Greater Manchester’s tram network to Wigan and Bolton. There are also ideas for Leeds, Sheffield and Hull.

Earlier this year at Ribble Valley Council, councillors discussed their support for a study linked to Northern Trains into future train services.  Research had suggested more Ribble Valley train links north and south to the Settle-Carlisle line and Manchester could create an extra 80,000 passenger journeys a year.

Currently, regular Northern trains run on the Settle-Carlisle line to Skipton and Leeds. These include morning and evening commuter services, and weekend services popular with visitors to the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria.

Elsewhere in Lancashire, there is a campaign to build a new railway along the old route between Colne and Skipton, for fast links to Leeds. The Skipton-East Lancashire Railway Action Partnership (SELRAP) says new services would bring big many benefits to boroughs such as Pendle, Burnley and Hyndburn.

East Lancashire house values, job prospects, investment, education and leisure would all benefit, campaigners say. Earby would also see a new station, under their ideas.