COUNCIL planners are to call a meeting to discuss reopening the railway line linking York and Beverley.

Planners at East Riding of Yorkshire Council are hoping to organise talks with colleagues at neighbouring councils in North Yorkshire, York, Ryedale and Hull following a report which said the line could be up and running again within ten years.

The report, written by the Countryside Agency which recently carried out an audit of closed railways in the Yorkshire and Humber region, said that there was a strong case for reopening the 34-mile stretch of railway, which was closed in 1965.

It said the reopened line would help reduce congestion problems on the A1079 and boost the numbers of tourists visiting towns in the Yorkshire Wolds area, including Pocklington and Market Weighton.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council's forward planning manager Tom Barnes said he hoped the informal meeting would take place in mid-May.

He said it was important that the different planners met to discuss the issue as re-opening the railway would be a very complicated project.

He said: "It is a massive issue and a lot of people are talking about it. The York-to-Beverley line is the only one in East Yorkshire that the report talks about re-opening.

"We were already concerned about the A1079 as it is a busy road, which is getting busier."

He said that at the moment people travelling from York to Pocklington and Market Weighton had no choice but to use the A1079, adding to traffic congestion.

But he said that re-opening the railway would not be simple, as houses had been built on the old route, in north York, Pocklington, Stamford Bridge and Market Weighton.

Mr Barnes added: "We are taking it one step at a time."

A spokesman for City of York Council said: "We are positive about the idea and we would be willing to discuss the issue. The council is always keen to explore all kinds of alternative forms of transport."

The Countryside Agency report said that the re-introduction of a passenger service on the Malton-to-Pickering and Harrogate-to-Ripon lines should also be closely looked at.

Updated: 09:29 Thursday, May 01, 2003