A LOCAL business chief today urged Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to consider reopening a long-closed rail line.

Mr Grayling paid a visit to Airedale Springs’ base in Haworth, where its chairman Tim Parkinson made the case for reopening the rail link between Colne and Skipton, which was closed in 1970.

Campaigners argue that reopening the ‘missing link’ of around 12 miles of track would connect Keighley, Bingley and Shipley in the East and Burnley, Blackburn and Preston in the West for a relatively small amount of money.

Mr Parkinson said it was estimated to cost around £100m.

He said: “Bang for your buck, this probably ticks an awful lot of boxes.”

Kris Hopkins, who is seeking re-election for the Conservatives for the Keighley constituency, said at first he hadn’t been “totally convinced” by the campaign, but had since heard from local firms about how it would help them move products and grow their businesses.

He said: “For a relatively small amount of money, in the scheme of things, we can connect ourselves quite quickly into the North West as well.”

Mr Grayling said it was a “very interesting case”.

He said they should talk to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) about it, saying: “If it came through the LEP and the councils, it would have a very decent chance of happening.”

But he said they should try to find ways of reducing the cost further, adding that he was “trying to get Network Rail to deliver projects at a lower cost”.

Mr Grayling appeared to pour cold water on a separate campaign to extend the M65 motorway from Colne into the Bradford district.

He said: “I asked the question about the M65 before and actually, if you did plan to take it on, across the Pennines, and link it up to the M62, my guess is you would get into all kinds of environmental issues.”

The Telegraph & Argus also asked Mr Grayling whether he would commit the Conservatives to including a stop for Bradford on the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail line between Leeds and Manchester, after he made encouraging comments about the idea earlier this year.

Mr Grayling said they were waiting for transport body Transport for the North to make its recommendations on the route, and were “expecting it imminently - frankly I would expect it straight after the election”.

He said he was sympathetic to the need for better rail links for Bradford, saying he accepted “the argument that a substantial city like Bradford needs better infrastructure than it has now”.

He added: “I don’t really see how Transport for the North’s plan can ignore Bradford.”

Mr Grayling also pointed out the work already done to bring the “overcrowded, knackered, old” Pacers off the Northern network and introduce new and refurbished trains as part of the current Northern railway franchise.

Mr Grayling also visited Haworth station, on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, and met with bosses from local bus firm Transdev.