HIGHWAYS chiefs have snubbed suggestions that a heritage railway could help take some of the strain out of a multi-million project to upgrade a stretch of the A1.

The Wensleydale Railway had expressed a cautious interest in bidding for freight carriage works on plans to upgrade to motorway standard a 24-mile (40km) stretch of the road, between Dishforth and Barton, in North Yorkshire.

But the Highways Agency, which is delivering the scheme which could cost more than £750m, has said “technical and logistical reasons”

are likely to prohibit the railway from playing a part.

Work on the southern section of the scheme, which runs from Dishforth to Leeming, will start next spring, with the remainder expected to follow in 2011. When completed, the scheme, approved by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly in March, will complete the last “missing link” in the motorway network between Tyneside and the M25.

The improvements will require millions of tonnes of materials and it was suggested that freight trains would take only a fraction of the estimated tens of thousands of heavy goods vehicle journeys it could take to deliver the materials.

The Wensleydale Railway, which is based at Leeming Bar, is close to the halfwaypoint of the roadworks.

A Highways Agency spokeswoman said: “Arrangements for contractors and suppliers for the A1 improvement have already been confirmed, to ensure that they are in place for work starting in spring next year.

“The Highways Agency and its contractors did consider proposals from the Wensleydale Railway to use the line when work starts at the site.

“However, it was not found to be feasible for various technical and logistical reasons.”

Ruth Annison, chairwoman of the Wensleydale Railway, said the organisation had not given up hope of being involved in the project.

She said: “This has been on our agenda since the A1 upgrade was first mentioned, in the early Nineties.

“We are interested in bidding, if the main contractor is considering using rail as a method of freight transport.

“As far as we are concerned, rail is an environmentallysustainable way of moving large amounts of freight.

“I am quite surprised at the agency’s comments.

“We are ready to bid, when the main contractors have chosen whether they want to use road, rail or both. We are always interested in commercial work for the railway.”

Plans for access roads on the second phase of the scheme, between Leeming and Catterick, and Scotch Corner and Barton, are being drawn up.