REOPENING a rail link between Hawes and Garsdale would represent a big solution to a big problem in the dales, according to a community leader.

County Coun John Blackie was speaking at a ceremony in Hawes railway station yard to mark the handover of a mile of secondhand track to campaigners working to restore passenger trains to the area.

It was announced at the same time that the health and safety executive had given Wensleydale Railway approval in principle to pioneer the use of the RegioSprinter, a lightweight German-built rural train, on the existing 22-mile line between Northallerton and Redmire ,once the track is upgraded for it.

Wensleydale Railway, which launched a £2.5m share issue last November, is going through the final details of leasing the Northallerton to Redmire section from its owner, Railtrack.

The ceremony marking the handover of a mile of track to the Wensleydale Railway Association should have taken place earlier this year but was delayed by the foot-and-mouth crisis in Wensleydale.

The track came from the scenic Settle to Carlisle line during a 2-year programme to upgrade the once-threatened route for heavier freight traffic.

Its handover was marked last Friday by the presentation to the WRA of a certificate and a symbolic piece of rail design, mounted on a plinth, by Mr Alan Fell, track renewals manager with Railtrack North-West, and Mr Frank McFadden, director of track renewals with First Engineering.

An unscheduled addition to the proceedings was the presentation of £2,000 to the Wensleydale rail campaigners by Mr Glynn Hague, representing the Friends of the Settle to Carlisle.

Coun Blackie, leader of Richmondshire District Council and chairman of Hawes Parish Council, asked in a light-hearted address whether there were another five miles of track to spare to reinstate the rail link between Hawes and Garsdale.

He said restoring the link with the inter-city rail network at Garsdale, on the Settle to Carlisle, had the potential to become a lifeline for a community in an area where farming and tourism had been devastated by foot-and-mouth.

Millions of pounds had been lost to the local economy, visitors to the local tourist information centre were down 50pc in August and many businesses had seen similar downturns in what was normally the best trading month of the year.

"A big solution is needed to what is a big problem, and reopening the line between Hawes and Garsdale would be a big solution.

"It would bring people with money in their pockets to Hawes and villages close by. The money would support shops, attractions and services and all the employment these provide.

"It would be an environmentally-friendly big solution because it would bring people without the bag and baggage of their cars. It would link into the inter-city network so that people would be likely to have travelled all the way to the dales by train rather than using Hawes as a railhead."

Mr Keith Cameron, chairman of the WRA and of Wensleydale Railway, said there was now a massive impetus to have a railway back in the dale.

The share issue had so far raised £750,000 thanks to the "phenomenal" commitment of individuals and small groups. Mr Cameron added: "The more money we have, the faster we restore."

He said a draft safety case for the 22-mile track from Northallerton to Redmire had been submitted by Wensleydale Railway to the HSE, which had given approval in principle to use the fast, modern, light and environmentally friendly RegioSprinter.

Wensleydale Railway was also forming a partnership with North Yorkshire County Council to bid for funding from the Strategic Rail Authority.

If the plans reached fruition, local rail campaigners who sent representatives to the Siemens works in Germany in 1999 would become the first British users of the RegioSprinter, a cross between a train and a modern tram.

About 40 sets of the lightweight diesel railcars, capable of 70mph, are running on rural branch lines in Germany and Denmark. They can be boarded from platforms only 12in high and an electric ramp helps the disabled.