Councillors urged to show backing for proposals to electrify rail line

A partnership of North Yorkshire, York and Harrogate councils, together with Metro, has formally presented its bid to the Government and last month Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, championed the campaign at a launch event in the spa town.

Harrogate Council’s cabinet will be asked: “To reaffirm the council’s commitment to work together with North Yorkshire County Council, Metro, and the City of York Council to develop and take forward a case for the transformation of the Leeds-Harrogate-York Rail Line” on Wednesday.

Any decisions about whether to support the scheme are likely to be some way off, but campaigners claim electrifying the route would allow trains to run at least every 15 minutes between Leeds and Harrogate as well as boost the frequency over the Knaresborough-York section of the route.

North Yorkshire County Council, Metro, York Council and Harrogate Borough Council, Network Rail, Northern and Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce, have been working with consultants looking at the modernisation of the line.

It is hoped that having a business case in place will allow campaigners to be in a strong position to get Government backing when it is next handing out cash for rail schemes.

The North Yorkshire and York Local Transport Body has already agreed a contribution of £9.6m from funding provided by the Department for Transport. North Yorkshire County Council has also pledged £3.4m from its own resources for improvements.