AN action group is campaigning to reopen the railway line between Skipton and Colne, over 30 years after it was closed.

SELRAP - the Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership has launched a feasibility study into reinstating the 11- and-a-half mile railway line which closed in January 1970.

The group is made up of representatives of Support the East Lancashire Line Association (STELLA), Friends of the Earth, Transport 2000, Railfuture, the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) and rail user groups.

Members of the group, along with a professional railway engineer, walked the line this summer to assess its state and found the reinstatement would be feasible.

The group states in the report that the trackbed is in good condition, and it found no unexpected problems. It says the greater part of the line could be re-instated at a relatively low cost.

However a significant bridge across the Leeds and Liverpool canal would need to be built, as well as a smaller one over the River Aire at Skipton, bringing the cost up to £28 million.

Two major roads have been built across the trackbed at either end of the line which could also present problems.

Steve Broadbent, chairman of SELRAP, said: "We were delighted to see the excellent condition the trackbed is in, given the number of years since the trains last ran on the line. We encountered no surprises or unexpected difficulties at all, and our aims of protecting the former Skipton-Colne railway trackbed from development and then seeing it reopened as a trans-Pennine rail link have been given another boost by these findings."

In its day the railway was seen as a major national and regional resource and the group says reinstating the line would provide trans-Pennine and local rail services accessible to all and help to take heavy freight off the region's roads.

"We now plan to take our campaign another step forward with a public meeting in Colne, details of which will be announced shortly," said Mr Broadbent.

"Our first aim is quite simply to protect the trackbed from incursion by any development large or small: it is simply too valuable a national resource to destroy."

One thing that could endanger the plans is the proposed A56 bypass from the M65 to the A65/A59 at Skipton, which will bypass the villages from Colne to Skipton. This would use the railway trackbed for much of its route. The group says although it is not one of its aims to stop the bypass, it would be objecting to any plans which could prevent the reinstatement of the railway line.

Mr Broadbent said: "SELRAP only fights for the railway: it does not, in itself, have a view on the proposed bypass. However, every member body of SELRAP is strongly against this new road scheme. SELRAP's view is that if the road has to be built, it should be done so as not to violate the trackbed or make re-instatement of the railway more expensive.

"Similarly, local authorities will be pressed not to approve planning applications which would affect the trackbed or render re-instatement more difficult."