THE loss-making Esk Valley rail line in North Yorkshire, which has only four trains a day, could be run by a pioneering partnership to safeguard its future.

For years the line between Whitby, through the Esk Valley, to Middlesbrough, has had an uncertain future, with services cut to just four trains in each direction daily.

But now the line could be run by a community partnership, made up of the North Yorkshire County Council, Strategic Rail Authority, Northern Spirit, the North York Moors National Park Authority and local organisations.

Delegates at a key meeting, attended by Whitby's MP Lawrie Quinn, discussed the idea, which would see a company set up to share responsibility with the operating company, Northern Spirit.

The move was warmly welcomed by leading Whitby councillor Dorothy Clegg, the Mayor of Scarborough and chairman of the Esk Valley Line Action Group.

She said: "It is wonderful news. The more the line can be developed and the number of trains increased, the better for Whitby's economy."

Today, the viability of the line rests to a great extent on the two trains taking more than 200 children and students from the Esk Valley, to schools in Whitby.

Coun Clegg said that the plans to restore the rail line between Pickering and Malton, would provide a direct link between Whitby and the main York services and the East Coast line.

"That would be a great boost for the economy of Whitby and its surrounding area. We could see a return to the days when waves of tourists came into Whitby by train," she said.

The former Esk Valley rail Partnership, which got multi-funding from a wide range of agencies, boosted usage of the Esk Line, by 30 per cent.

The idea may now be debated in Parliament, thanks to Mr Quinn

He said: "I am pressing for a parliamentary debate on the rail industry. I find the whole idea of the community partnership very exciting for the Esk Line.