SELRAP, the action group campaigning to reinstate just 12 miles of rail track between Colne and Skipton, are building up to a major last push to get the project over the line. A new rail corridor will be transformational – forming the North’s fourth trans-Pennine link, supporting the levelling-up of the East Lancashire and wider Northern economy.

SELRAP have appointed Burnley’s Scott Dawson Advertising to create a campaign video, showing support for the campaign from leading figures across the North. This will help in gaining more public support, and show how much the relatively small project will bring in benefits to the North.

The reinstatement of the track will connect the Airedale line, a modern and fast train service running from Leeds, into East Lancashire. Two trains will be scheduled per hour, with a new station built at Earby and a replacement station built in Colne. This will bring the Colne-Leeds journey time down to just 50 minutes, with significant benefits for students, commuting, leisure and tourism opportunities in East Lancs and the Yorkshire Dales.

Freight is another significant benefit the project will bring to the region. Additional freight trains on this route will make this a strategic freight rail corridor from coast to coast, connecting Hull with Liverpool and routes inbetween. This will significantly reduce congestion pressure on the M62, and will have a great benefit on the environment. This project will also open up other future projects, such as the building of a strategically placed freight terminal at Huncoat.

Amber Corns, PR Director at Scott Dawson Advertising said: “This is a great project and I’m looking forward to the final version. We’ve seen in Burnley how the reopening of the Todmorden Curve has brought benefits to the town being directly connected to Manchester, so I’m proud to be helping SELRAP get their project over the line.”

Peter Bryson, Chairman of SELRAP, said: “We’ve had so much support from leading figures already on our project, and 2021 is the year we will get this over the line and secure the funding. SDA had some great ideas on how to get the message across in a way that will capture people’s attention, and this will be the year we get the wheels in motion!”

More can be seen on the benefits and the progress so far on the project at the SELRAP website here: www.selrap.org.uk