Skipton–East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership

The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) is the campaign to reopen the Skipton to Colne railway line, as part of the rail network of the United Kingdom.

History of the Skipton–Colne line

Reinstatement proposal
Airedale line Skipton Leeds–Morecambe line West Craven Parkway (proposed) Colne East Lancashire line

The line between Skipton and Colne was opened in October 1848, part of the Leeds and Bradford Railway's Shipley to Colne extension and at a cost of £67,000 (equivalent to £6,170,000 in 2016).^[1] With the East Lancashire Railway reaching Colne from Burnley in February 1849 and the completion of the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway in April 1849, a through route from Leeds to Liverpool was then established. Stations between Skipton and Colne were built at Elslack, Thornton-in-Craven, Earby and Foulridge. A branch from Earby to Barnoldswick was opened in 1871.

The Skipton–Colne line was not listed for closure as part of Dr Beeching's 1963 "The Reshaping of British Railway's" report, however the line closed in February 1970 (with the Barnoldswick branch having earlier closed in September 1965).

Skipton–Colne and the East Lancashire line

"The Missing Link" - the 11.5 mile missing line between Skipton and Colne, also showing other railway lines in the area.

The missing section of railway between Skipton and Colne is 11.5 miles (18.5 km) in length.^[2]

The remaining East Lancashire line serves a conurbation of some half a million people. It is relatively under-utilised, and it is under-developed from an engineering point of view.^[3] Colne is currently served by one train per hour which traverses the 50-mile (80 km) East Lancashire Line from Blackpool South railway station via Preston, Blackburn and Burnley, with many station stops at intermediate towns and with a total journey time in excess of 100 minutes. The route is affected by numerous permanent speed restrictions, particularly at junctions. The service is currently operated by Northern, with services operating using Class 142 or Class 150 Diesel Multiple Units.

Skipton is on the Airedale line and is served by frequent electric trains which serve Leeds every 30 minutes, with a journey time of around 40 minutes, and Bradford Forster Square every 30 minutes, with a journey time of around 35 minutes. These services are also operated by Northern, using a mixture of Class 321, 322 and 333 Electric Multiple Units. Northern also operate services from Leeds to Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham Port, as well as services to Carlisle (on the Settle–Carlisle line), all of which serve Skipton. Skipton also has a direct return service to London Kings Cross operated by London North Eastern Railway (06.55 from Skipton, 18.03 from London).

Reinstatement proposal

Reinstatement of Colne–Skipton would provide scope for both local and regional rail services. SELRAP say the line will deliver a number of benefits to local communities, the Northwest and the UK as a whole. SELRAP's proposals include opening at least one station between Skipton and Colne. The number and precise location(s) will depend on the viability study required.

A 2003 study commissioned by Lancashire and North Yorkshire County Councils from consultants Steer Davies Gleave found that the formation was largely intact and there were no insurmountable obstacles to reinstatement of the line.^[4] In 2007 SELRAP commissioned a study by JMP Consultants to further assess the business case. This appraisal showed that a positive benefit cost ratio would be achieved for a single track option under most growth and cost scenarios. A double track railway achieves a positive benefit cost ratio if recent trends of accelerating demand growth are assumed to continue.^[5]

Craven District Council and Pendle Borough Council are the two planning authorities within which the track-bed lies. Craven District Council protects the track-bed for transport use under planning policy SP2 ^[6]. Pendle Local Plan also protects the track-bed under policy ENV4^[7].

At the county level, the Lancashire LEP board "Noted the robust and compelling case that the independent study by Cushman & Wakefield makes for enhanced East-West connectivity to realise the full economic potential of the Central Trans-Pennine Corridor and its role in delivering the long-term growth ambitions of the wider Northern Powerhouse" ^[8]. Though not affected to the same degree, re-instatement is supported in North Yorkshire Local Transport Plan (LTP4) 2016 to 2045 ^[9], and by West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

The Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) from Network Rail gave way to the Long Term Planning Process (LTPP) which in turn is being replaced in the north of England by the Strategic Transport Plan (STP) from Transport for the North. The section of the STP ^[10] that applies is the Central Pennine Corridor.

On 3 February 2018, the Transport Secretary announced a feasibilty study into reopening the route to passengers once again as part of the Government's plan to invite proposals to reopen many lines closed under British Rail. The study will be commissioned by Transport for the North and Network Rail ^[11] and conclude later in 2018. The announcement was made at Colne station and covered in the press.^[12][13]

Membership and funding

SELRAP was formed in spring 2001. It is managed by a small volunteer Executive Committee elected from its members. Membership is open to individuals, businesses, local authorities and NGOs. Its core activities are funded by a small membership fee and donations, with the addition of occasional grant support from larger community bodies. For key projects, additional funding and assistance in kind has been provided by local authorities, private charitable foundations and donations from individual members and the business community.

SELRAP's activities

SELRAP's activities include lobbying elected representatives at all levels and negotiating to ensure that the objectives of SELRAP are reflected in policy documents and consultation exercises from bodies involved in planning, development, regeneration, transport and the railways, and the funding thereof. SELRAP also promotes and publicises its agenda via the media and public events, and through its bi-annual newsletter. In 2007 SELRAP instructed JMP to investigate the business case for reopening the line. During 2013 and 2014 SELRAP commissioned and paid for further studies from ARUP to update the position.

Following a key meeting in January 2015, SELRAP was included in a working group to investigate the east-west connectivity issues between East Lancashire and Yorkshire.This group included representatives of LCC, NYCC, WYCA, Network Rail, DfT etc. It produced the Rail Connectivity Report in 2015 and went on to produce the Outputs Definition Report in 2016. Also in 2016, Arcus worked with SELRAP to produce an Environmental Feasibility Study.

SELRAP also holds a Members Open Meeting every two months, rotating between Skipton, Earby and Colne, allowing members and non-members to hear from the Executive Committee on the campaign, and raise questions or suggestions of their own.

Controversies

A proposal exists to build a new road known as the “A56 Villages Bypass” from Colne towards Skipton on a similar alignment to the railway. The 2003 report from Steer Davies Gleave suggests that the road and rail schemes may be mutually inclusive. However, some critics regard the rail proposals as a source of undue delay to the road scheme.

SELRAP does not declare a view on the proposed new road provided that its construction does not obstruct or hinder full reinstatement of a double-track railway.

It has been suggested that there is a lower-cost alternative to link Skipton with the West. With a reversal at Hellifield, trains could reach Blackburn and Preston via the Ribble Valley line. SELRAP's view is that while this would require little (if any) structural investment, it is not a true alternative, as it would provide none of the regeneration benefits for Colne, Nelson, Burnley or West Craven.

References

External links

• Official website