THE future of a beautiful rail journey has received a boost thanks to parents fighting for their children's right to travel by train.

A campaign to breathe life into the Esk Valley North York Moors train line suffered a knock when North Yorkshire County Council withdrew school train passes.

The council said that 60 children who travel from Castleton, near Guisborough, to school in Whitby had to use buses.

That would have meant a loss of approximately £30,000 to the rural Middlesbrough to Whitby line which has been threatened with closure in the past.

The authority said a £3.4m refurbishment of the trains, by owners Arriva, reduced seat numbers from 190 to 158 so not every child could be guaranteed a seat, contrary to council policy.

However, parents of the children have won a reprieve thanks to Arriva promising not to use the refurbished carriages until March.

They had been concerned that travel along the A171 moors road would be less safe than by rail.

The delay has been hailed as a boost by the Esk Valley Development Company which hopes one day to run the rail line.

Neil Buxton, of the Esk Valley Development Company, said: "The news about the train passes didn't threaten the future of the line but every bit of finance will help and we really want it to be a community railway."

All parties said they believed a permanent solution would now be found.