A CAMPAIGN to re-open a railway line between Yorkshire and Lancashire has been backed by more than 30 politicians from both counties and beyond.

The Colne to Skipton line has been closed for more than 35 years but the Skipton to East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) is lobbying to have the trans-Pennine route reinstated.

The group's battle has been backed by Yorkshire politicians, Labour and Conservative, including Halifax MP Linda Riordan, Shipley MP Philip Davies, Keighley MP Ann Cryer and Skipton MP David Curry.

The Leader of the House of Commons Jack Straw, who is MP for Blackburn, and broadcaster Nicholas Owen have also endorsed calls for the service to return.

And the Department of Transport has not ruled out the idea, saying it would look at any business case put forward.

The railway line between Colne and Skipton was closed in 1970 and sections of the track have been removed.

A feasibility study carried by SELRAP said it would cost around £30m to get a two-way route re-instated between the two stations.

SELRAP's treasurer Roy St Pierre said: "The closure should never have happened. Restoration would open up so many travel opportunities.

"It would improve employment and leisure options, especially for those who have no access to a car. Just 11.5 miles of missing railway line separate two of our regions.

The campaign has so far been backed by 21 MPs and 12 members of the European Parliament.

Mr Curry said: "Re-opening the artery between major economic centres on either side of the Pennines has to be for the common good."

Mrs Cryer promised to use the service if the line reopens.

"I used to use the service when my mother and father were alive to go from Oakworth to Darwen so it was a part of my life.

"I do believe that it would be greatly used. The decision needs to come from the Department of Transport."

She told the Yorkshire Post that creating an alternative means of transport between Yorkshire and Lancashire could help alleviate traffic problems on the A650 between Bradford and Bingley – a route which links east Lancashire to West and North Yorkshire.

In 2003 North Yorkshire and Lancashire county councils commissioned a joint study which found that re-opening the line was a possibility. The line is included in North Yorkshire County Council's transport plan, but a spokesman said it had not committed funding to the project.

A Department of Transport spokesman said he could not comment on the Colne-Skipton case, but added: "We would listen to any business case for the opening of a railway. We would expect it to be supported by the local authorities and have been examined by Network Rail to see what impact it would have."