Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to receive a feasibility study report into the creation of a new trans-Pennine freight route between Liverpool and Yorkshire, via Burnley, Skipton and Leeds, including a reinstatement of a double-track railway between Gannow Junction and Skipton.

We are working closely with Transport for the North and relevant local transport authorities to evaluate the costs, benefits and funding options for reinstating the Skipton-Colne line for passengers and freight, as part of a freight route across the Pennines. Work is advancing well and we expect to receive the results later this year in the form of a Strategic Outline Business Case prepared in line with the Government’s new pipeline approach to rail enhancements.