Gargrave residents have won their first battle to get better train services in the village.

Villagers and visitors will once again be able to catch a train for a day trip on the Settle to Carlisle line after promises were made to members of the Aire Valley Rail Users' Group by the new regional director for Northern Spirit, Peter Cushing, at a recent meeting.

Back in May, the Herald revealed how the much valued train service running from the village to Carlisle had been stopped.

Gargrave Women's Institute was just one group in the village which raised concerns about the termination of the Carlisle service by Northern Spirit.

Secretary Olive Payne told the Herald at the time that they were exasperated that the service had been stopped especially after so much money had been invested in refurbishing Gargrave station in 1999.

She added the group would now be forced to book a coach outing instead.

Tim Calow, of the Aire Valley Users' Group, vowed to get the service reinstated and said he was unhappy residents had lost the only service running to Carlisle from Gargrave.

This week, Mr Calow told the Herald the group now had pinned down a specific date for when the new service would be reinstated.

He said: "There will now be Gargrave stops on two Carlisle services starting on May 21 2001, the start of the summer timetable. Northbound the 8.48am train is to stop in the village, whilst southbound the 4.24pm service from Carlisle will also call at Gargrave.

"This means it will be once again possible to travel from Gargrave for a day out along the Settle to Carlisle line. In fact the service will be better than before as it will operate all year round.

"Visitors who come and stay in Gargrave next summer will be able to use this service to go out walking in the Dales and it's going to be a lot easier to reach Carlisle.

"We are planning to assist in the promotion of these new stops. We would then hope that further improvements to the train services can be justified."

However, Mr Calow added that although the news was welcomed, Gargrave still had a relatively poor train timetable.

"It's a start but it does not solve the problem of big gaps between services especially in the middle of the day in Gargrave.

"We're hoping in the future to get more of the Carlisle trains to stop and to improve the service on a Sunday.

"We do welcome this though as an indication that Northern Spirit intends to improve services for Gargrave and other villages running along the Settle to Carlisle line."