RAILWAY campaigners have joined forces in the hope of re-opening an abandoned rail link.

The Whitby to York Rail link group on Facebook has nearly 800 members as they attempt to lobby Network Rail and get trains back on the tracks.

A petition has also been set up as the campaigners hope to improve environmental and economical benefits for the whole of North Yorkshire and boost job prospects and tourism by speeding up journey times to larger cities.

Campaigner Neil Kipling set up the group and is leading efforts to put pressure on Network Rail to reopen the line for the first time since 1965.

Neil said: “We are a long way from achieving it but with regards to Network Rail, other pressure groups in Derbyshire and the Scottish Borders have been successful in getting funding.

“Our biggest obstacle is the North Yorkshire Moors railway.

“We have emailed them because we want to come to some sort of agreement to double track the line or run a service alongside it.

“We have members from across the country and a lot of European members who are very interested in this link for ease of travel.

“If these obstacles can be overcome, and I feel very confident they can be, we can start pushing the right buttons for funding.”

This is not the first time campaigners have attempted to put trains back on the tracks.

Two years ago a petition was set up in a bid to try and run trains on the line between Malton and Pickering,  but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Tim Lawrence runs the Estbeck House hotel in Whitby and is calling for the line to be reinstated.

He said: “It’s not an easy thing to do. It’s not just six miles of track because there’s a lot of other things included, but it needs looking at again because there’s so many benefits for the tourist trade.

“We get a lot of people coming here from London and we get a lot of people saying it’s a nightmare to get here by train fromYork , and they have to get a taxi because of the transport links.”

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We have a planning process which looks at predicted future demand and what infrastructure improvements are required to meet that demand.”

“Any scheme such as this would need to be considered within that framework. Such a scheme would certainly require the backing of the local authority.”