THE campaign group fighting to re-open the Skipton to Colne rail line is due to meet in Skipton on Monday, June 12.

The Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP), which was launched in April, 2001, says reopening the 12-mile 'missing link' between Skipton and Colne, which was removed in 1970, will connect communities across the north of the country.

Peter Bryson, chair of SELRAP, in the group's April newsletter, says: "This campaign has worked exceptionally closely with the Department for Transport, Network Rail and our key supporters, going well beyond what anyone could reasonably expect a voluntary group to do. We have demonstrated beyond doubt that this transformational project now has a strong and indisputable strategic and business case. This is now a great opportunity, the forecasts are looking good."

Keighley MP Robbie Moore has said SELRAP deserves 'enormous credit' for its unwavering determination. "The Skipton to Colne railway line is a vital piece in the jigsaw to connect Lancashire and Yorkshire. Not only this, but it will grant my constituents much easier access to great Northern cities such as Liverpool and Manchester."

The meeting of SELRAP will take place on Monday, June 12 at The Education Room, Skipton Town Hall at 7pm.