Resort lays it on line in fight to reopen railway

Whitby Town Council has launched a campaign to reinstate the Malton to Pickering line after it was shut under the infamous Beeching Axe, which saw more than 4,000 miles of railway and 3,000 stations closed in the 1960s as part of a major reshaping of British Railways.

It is hoped the move will lead to visitors from further afield abandon their cars in favour of rail travel to the resort and provide much-needed links to York and Leeds for residents, as well as create new jobs.

The authority has written to the town councils in Pickering and Malton in the hope they will back the campaign and it is also seeking support from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which operates steam trains on part of the old line, which closed in 1965.

Whitby Town Council clerk Pam Dobson said the idea to reopen the line had sprung from a long-running campaign which was launched by Skipton-East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (Selrap) to restore the rail line between Skipton and Colne.

She said: “Our missing link is between Pickering and Malton. It’s very early days and we are waiting to see what support there is from other town councils and organisations.

“It would boost tourism in the area and would reduce the impact on the roads into Whitby as well improving parking in the town. Residents will also be able to get out of Whitby and link into York, which means they could get to London. Currently if they want to catch a train to York or Leeds they have to catch a train from Scarborough, which can only be accessed by car or bus.”

Whitby’s tourism industry is worth about £40m a year to the local economy and provides an estimated 2,000 jobs – almost 30 per cent of the town’s overall workforce.

The coast, beach and harbour are the focal point of the port’s tourism, with around half of all visitors to Whitby heading to the beach.

The Town Mayor of Malton, Coun Jason Fitzgerald-Smith, said restoring the rail line would be a “terrific benefit” to a large part of North Yorkshire, especially Ryedale and the North York Moors National Park, as well as Whitby.

He said: “It would have many economic benefits because it would provide a direct link from Whitby through to Pickering, Malton and York. The many other benefits would be the potential to reduce the volume of traffic on the A64 road between York and Scarborough.”

Coun Fitzgerald-Smith said Malton was already seen as a major hub town for a large part of rural North Yorkshire but it would be vital for ticket offices to remain open and for rail fares to be kept competitive.

“I am sure Malton Town Council would be fully supportive of the idea,” he said.

However, Pickering’s Mayor, Coun Joan Lovejoy, said economic factors would have to be considered before the proposals could be taken forward

She said: “Speaking personally, I think that while there would certainly be advantages because of a developing a link to Malton and York, the current economic climate does not make it feasible at present.”

Coun Lovejoy said that when a similar idea was promoted over a decade ago, the cost of rebuilding the line was estimated at £18m.

She added that another significant problem was a new supermarket which is set to be built on part of the former railway yard at Pickering and could result in a new station having to built to the south of the market town.

Coun Lovejoy added that the authority would be discussing Whitby Town Council’s suggestion in detail.

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