The time is right for commuter passenger services to return to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway line, according to a number of local politicians.

Hundreds of planned new houses across the valley, traffic congestion in Keighley and next year’s Tour De France passing just yards from the five-mile heritage line have led to fresh calls to re-introduce commuter services.

Regular services ceased in the 1960s, but just a few years later the line re-opened as a tourist attraction.

A report by Arup in 2010 said returning services to the line would be viable, costing £550,000 but bringing in £1million annually.

Little progress has been made since, but with the cycle race passing through the valley next July, an executive member of Bradford Council thinks the line should ride the Tour De France publicity.

Coun Ralph Berry (Wibsey) said: “The report came out in 2010, but I know people want them to have another look at this. Having read the report I’m surprised at how positive it is about introducing a regular service.

“I think it would be a fantastic opportunity to get people onto trains. That is what the railway was built for, so I hope people get together and make it happen.”

And Coun Berry feels that with many stops on the line also being on the Tour route, now is the perfect time to progress the idea.

“These towns and villages will be the place to be, and people won’t be able to drive up the main roads at that time because of the race.”

Jim Shipley, who works on the railway, said: “In general the railway does try to put on extra trains at busy times, and we are running more trains than ever.”

He said if a regular service were to return, it would likely be in the form of a railway operator paying for access to the track, with it still being operated by the Worth Valley.

The Worth Valley Joint Transport Committee is made up of councillors from Oxenhope, Haworth and Keighley, who have been looking at the issue for several years. They say there are many other factors that weigh in favour of bringing passenger services back, including the lack of services in Oxenhope, congestion in Keighley and the call for 1,000 new homes in the Worth Valley.