Pendle plea for Government to get back on track with reopening Colne to Skipton rail line

Following the Prime Minister's announcement that the controversial HS2 rail scheme will go ahead, Liberal Democrat Lord Tony Greaves said that “those of us who live in the corridor between East Lancashire and Skipton in the Aire Valley in Yorkshire are not bothered about having high-speed rail. We want our railway back - the 11 miles between Colne and Skipton.”

Lord Greaves, also a Pendle borough councillor, addressed Baroness Vere, the Under Secretary of State for Transport,in the House of Lords when he added: "We would be quite happy for the trains to go at a normal speed, but please can we have our railway back?"

Baroness Vere replied: “The noble Lord is a doughty campaigner on this matter. We have heard his message and, as he knows, we are working on it.”

After the debate on the statement, Lord Greaves said that the Colne-Skipton project was still in the first stage of the Government’s “Rail Enhancement Pipeline”.

He said: “It is vital that we get the report that has been in preparation for a year now, so this scheme, promoted by SELRAP campaigners for so long, can move to stage two and take advantage of the current Government enthusiasm for new capital schemes.”

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson has been a staunch advocate on reopening the Colne to Skipton line.