A PARISH council chairman has claimed there "isn't a hope in hell" of the Harrogate-Ripon-Northallerton railway line being reopened.

Coun Rowly Curtis, chairman of Littlethorpe Parish Council, made his comments as the campaign to reinstate the line, closed as part of nationwide cutbacks by Dr Beeching in the 60s, started to gather steam.

North Yorkshire County Council has decided to press ahead with a feasibility study into the potential of reopening the line, a pledge included in its recently-published transport plan 2001-06.

Meanwhile, Ripon City Council's railway reinstatement steering group plans to start work on an action plan to be submitted to Ripon city partnership, applying for money towards the study.

The partnership was recently awarded £3m as part of the government's single regeneration budget.

Although no firm route for the railway has yet been set, ideas have been floated for a station on the southern fringe of the city near the bypass.

However, fears are growing among some residents in Littlethorpe - where homes have been built along the old track - that trains could again run through their community.

Coun Curtis, a member of the steering group, said one suggestion claimed 500 people a day would use the restored service, while another claimed 600 fewer cars an hour at rush hours between Ripon and Harrogate. "There is a huge discrepancy in these figures. One has to wonder which, if either, is correct," he said.

Coun Curtis said Railtrack was not aware of any other reinstatement where the original route had been sold off in bits and pieces to individuals, who had incorporated it into homes and businesses.

He said a £20m figure for reinstatement was almost certainly a large underestimate. Each level crossing would cost £500,000-£750,000.

Ripon, he said, did not have a big enough population to support a profitable railway and the idea of rerouting North-East freight via Ripon and Harrogate would not be an option. Millions had been spent on a new track layout at Leeds city station, designed to speed up passengers trains. Freight from Harrogate would merely snarl up passenger trains and cause delay.

Coun Stuart Martin, who chairs the steering group, said the county council's decision for a feasbility study was encouraging news. But he said it was speculation to suggest a study would cost £100,000. The next task was to draw up an action plan and to submit it to Ripon city partnership in a bid for funding for the study.

"There is still a long way to go before anything is finalised. That is why we cannot talk about routes yet," he said