MEMBERS of a Dales group of rail enthusiasts are celebrating after the station they care for and promote has been twinned with another Yorkshire station in what is thought to be the first hook-up of its kind in the country.

Bentham station and Mytholmroyd station, in the Calder Valley, have been twinned by their respective 'adoption groups' to further promote both as gateways to their communities.

The Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS) and members of the Mytholmroyd Station Partnership (MSP) formally sealed the initiative at a packed meeting in Mytholmroyd, which took place in a church hall near the station.

Gerald Townson, for FOBS and chairman of the Bentham Line (Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership) said: “This is about the development of new station initiatives and re-invigorating tourism, particularly across the former West Riding, by twinning stations which have thriving support groups.

"Mytholmroyd Station Partnership is an active group who have transformed the station and made it a community focus, while Friends of Bentham Station have the same approach.

"It is all about community orientation and interest – not just trains. Train services are the means to achieve the transport links safely and quickly so that these areas can be opened up for leisure opportunities as well as business use.”

The twinning idea was sparked when representatives from both groups attended an event during the summer to commemorate the Queen's 90th birthday.

Even though Bentham and Mytholmroyd would superficially appear to have little in common as towns - Bentham is a market town while Mytholmroyd is more industrial - members of both groups thought that mutual support could help each to achieve more. Bentham currently has just 10 trains a day while Mytholmroyd has 70. The Bentham group has recently helped to bring the station building 'back to life' for use by the community.

Rail chiefs hope that the approach will extend to other community groups who adopt stations for the benefit of their communities. They say there is going to be a £1b investment in new trains and services, as well as station improvements, with hundreds of additional services over the next three years.

The Bentham Line is the working title for the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership. It was set up in 2006 and has its offices at Bentham Station and works to improve services and develop community links along the railway line.

The route goes from Heysham and Morecambe, on the west coast, via Lancaster and Carnforth through the Lune and Wenning valleys with Ingleborough as a back drop.

It then continues to Skipton and along the Aire valley which includes the more urban area from Keighley to Leeds, thus linking the West Coast mainline at Lancaster with the East Coast mainline at Leeds.