PENDLE-based peer Lord Tony Greaves made a plea in the House of Lords to restore the Skipton to Colne rail line.

Last week he told new transport minister Lord Callanan: “There are missing links that need to be put back in…none more so than the Colne-Skipton link, which can provide not only a local service of benefit to local people in the region but a new strategic east-west route between the west coast and the east coast, particularly for freight.

“There has been a 20-year campaign for this, with half promises from government at all levels. Will the government step in and put some oomph behind this proposal?”

In reply, Lord Callanan paid tribute to the work of the Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) for raising the profile on the case for reopening the line and said “they will be actively involved in the Transport for the North corridor study to consider potential solutions.”