CAMPAIGNERS have stepped up their bid for a direct train route into the heart of Yorkshire walking country.

Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) is fighting for the reinstatement of the Skipton to East Lancashire railway line which will link up at Colne and are hoping to gain support for their ideas from Pendle MP Gordon Prentice.

At a meeting at Colne Municipal Hall, which was also attended by the Mayor of Pendle, Councillor Colin Waite, members of the group put across their hopes for the future of the area.

The partnership want to restore the line between Yorkshire and East Lancs which was axed 40 years ago. There was also a branch line off to Barnoldswick which SELRAP may also consider as part of their campaign.

If the railway tracks were replaced and the line was reopened, it would mean passengers could travel to Skipton from Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Colne without having to take a diverted route or take the bus.

Colne man Matt Gordon is a member of East Lancashire Transport 2000, which campaigns for more people-friendly transport and is a supporter of SELRAP.

He said: "It won't be a short project to get the line reinstated and no-one should underestimate it. We will have the difficulty of winning political support for it and demonstrating the business case for it. We had an estimate done on the line and technological problems were identified.

"There aren't a lot of problems along most of the line. Just a couple of places where bridges are missing and a few trees need to be cut back but it won't happen within the next five years. Our immediate aim is to ensure the track is safe guarded so it can be opened at some point in the future."

The new line, which would cover 12 to 15 miles of track, would provide a link not only to Skipton and the Yorkshire Dales but to Leeds, Bradford and the Settle and Carlisle line and could cost millions of pounds.

Mr Gordon said: "It would cost the kind of money that would have to come from a variety of sources such as the government, the Strategic Rail Authority and train operators.

"The tracks have been removed so they would need replacing, the bridge at Foulridge was taken down a few years ago so that needs putting back again. The other two things which would be necessary would be a realignment just north of Thornton and something being put in for the line to cross Vivary Way in Colne.

"We think a good rail link would be really important for the regeneration of this area. Regeneration is something that is talked about a lot, but you couldn't do much better than having a train service going into neighbouring cities and connecting the towns of this area."