THERE is good news this week about the Wensleydale railway line. Rail industry representatives have handed over extra track to campaigners, who want to restore passenger trains throughout the dale and beyond.

The track came from the previously run-down but now resurgent Settle-Carlisle line, which passes by just five miles away at Garsdale. Campaigners ultimately want to reconnect the Wensleydale line with it and the East Coast main line at Northallerton.

The Wensleydale Railway Association is behind the project and it has received approval in principle to run German-built trains on existing track between Northallerton and Redmire. It has raised £750,000 in a £2.5m share campaign and is finalising details to lease the existing line.

These developments coincide with the publication of a report, calling for the reopening of 70 branch lines which were closed in the 60s.

The Rail Passengers' Council report says the government should fill gaps in the network to improve overall rail capacity and reduce road congestion.

Before the Hatfield crash, rail travel rose 25pc in five years.

The country needs "joined up thinking" and action on transport.

There is talk of relaying the Northallerton-Ripon-Harrogate line and of new stations around Stockton, Sedgefield and East Cleveland. Yarm's new, if modest, station has been a success and similar developments could be successful elsewhere.

Surely some stretches, if not all, of the Middlesbrough-Whitby line could be improved? At present, only a handful of trains run its full length, while a few extra Cleveland services terminate at Nunthorpe.

Nearby Great Ayton has almost no convenient services and hundreds drive into Teesside each day. Why not consider building a modern station near the Guisborough Road bridge and reconnect Guisborough with Nunthorpe?

If done well, such relatively cheap and straightforward developments could substantially ease congestion and satisfy all travellers.