Skipton-Colne and The East Lancashire Line
The missing section of railway between Skipton and Colne is 11.5 miles in length; it was closed in January 1970 although it was not a target under the Beeching Axe.
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 East Lancashire Line from Blackpool South railway station via Preston, Blackburn, Burnley and many station stops at intermediate towns with a total journey time in excess of 100 minutes. The route is affected by numerous Permanent Speed Restrictions particularly at junctions. Skipton is on the Airedale Line and is served by frequent electric trains which reach Leeds in around 40 minutes.
The East Lancashire Line as far as Colne was once part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. However, the missing Colne - Skipton stretch was built in 1848 by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway, later absorbed by the Midland Railway.
Read more about this topic: Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership
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