THE routes of disused rail lines across North Yorkshire should be formally protected in the long-term hope that they can eventually be put back into service, according to a new report.

The restoration of such lines becomes far more difficult and costly when the route has been blocked by housing, other construction work or through the demolition of bridges.

By using its powers to protect the routes, North Yorkshire County Council would be working towards a better rail service for the region in the future.

The move is one of the key conclusions of a wide-ranging new report on rail passenger services in the county, which has been drawn up for the authority's executive.

It covers everything from new services and stations to fares and security, as well as the need for integration with other public transport services and extending concessionary bus fare schemes to cover train travel.

The chairman of the environmental services overview and scrutiny committee, Councillor John Fletcher, said: "The provision of effective passenger rail services is acknowledged to be essential to the economic wellbeing of the county.

"Inward investment will be denied if such services are poor and difficult to access."

He added: "The diversity of provision in the county is illustrated in the efficient fast services on the East Coast Main Line, while the town of Harrogate is served by what is little more than a branch line and all that such status implies."

Although some old pre-Beeching routes in the county are now blocked, much of the old network still exists and is now used as footpaths or bridleways.

One old route is already being reopened - from Leeming Bar to Leyburn - and feasibility work is continuing into the possibility of opening others, such as Malton to Pickering and the Harrogate to Northallerton/Thirsk via Ripon lines.

"Protecting a disused route does not preclude its use for walking, cycling, horse-riding or other uses that do not result in a blockage that will be costly to reverse," says the report