Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written answer by Baroness Sugg on 11 February (HL13163), when it was decided that “the feasibility study into the value of reopening the Skipton to Colne railway” announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on 3 February 2018 was “only the first step in establishing the feasibility of the project”; what was the announcement made by Chris Grayling at Colne railway station on 29 January 2019, and whether and where they published that announcement.

As part of the normal course of business, feasibility studies will be carried out into various potential rail upgrade projects. Following consideration of the conclusions from the initial feasibility studies that were completed in early December the Government decided that further work needed to be undertaken to assess the commercial viability of the scheme and the freight demand before any commitment to progress the scheme, a project championed by Andrew Stephenson MP, the Hon Member for Pendle, to the next ‘develop’ stage of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline. The Secretary of State for Transport initially communicated this decision on 25 January at a meeting in Colne with the Member of Parliament for Pendle and town, Borough and County councillors, and through an interview with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.