SKIPTON EAST LANCASHIRE RAIL ACTION PARTNERSHIP

That this House congratulates Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) onits ongoing campaign to reopen the Skipton to Colne line; notessupport for SELRAP from 195 hon. Members, 101 Lords, two-thirds of UK MEPs and 505 councils; welcomes this Government's commitment to investing in transport infrastructure especially in the North West such as the Todmorden Curve, North Hub and HS2; further notes that 17,000 residents in Pendle have no access to rail facilities, that because of poor transport options 148 of the 279 most deprived wards nationwide are along the line of the railway between Shipley, Skipton and Blackburn, that rail journey times from Colne to Liverpool or Leeds are an hour longer and to Manchester 45 minutes longer than in 1950, that reopening the line could save up to 581 tonnes of carbon dioxide andthat a report in 2007 estimated the benefit cost ratio of reopening the line at 2.43/1; supports SELRAP's bid for the GRIP 3 funding that will further establish the viability of reopening the line; and encourages the Secretary of State for Transport to support SELRAP's campaign to reopen the Skipton to Colne line.