Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership
| Motto | Connecting Communities Across The North |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2001 |
| Type | Voluntary organisation |
|
Membership
|
480 members and 52 affiliated groups (as of June 2016) |
|
Chairman
|
Peter Bryson |
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.
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). 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).
The missing section of railway between Skipton and Colne is 11.5 miles (18.5 km) in length.
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. 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 Virgin Trains East Coast (06.55 from Skipton, 18.03 from London).
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