Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions in relation to the possible reinstatement of the railway line between Colne and Skipton they have (1) held in the past six months, and (2) arranged to hold in the next three months, with (a) Network Rail, (b) Northern Rail, (c) bidders for the Northern Rail franchise, (d) Lancashire County Council, (e) North Yorkshire County Council, (f) local authorities in West Yorkshire, (g) Pendle Borough Council, (h) Craven District council, (i) local campaign groups, and (j) any other relevant bodies.

The Government has advised SELRAP, Network Rail, Local Enterprise Partners and the Local Authority on how to proceed with reopening the railway line between Colne and Skipton and they will need to fund the feasibility study. We will be meeting them soon to discuss the conditional outputs and the wider issues surrounding this scheme.