A CAMPAIGN to get a village railway station rebuilt on the main line between Manchester and Huddersfield is building up a head of steam.

Former Oldham Council leader and renowned transport academic Dr Richard Knowles is urging Oldham Council to bid for a slice of the £20 million New Stations Fund announced by the government last week to get Diggle Station - demolished in 1968 under the now infamous Beeching cuts - restored.

Dr Knowles, who was leader of Oldham Council and Liberal Democrats from 2000 to 2003 and who served on the authority for 36 years until 2012, is a professor of transport at Salford and Huddersfield universities.

He told The Oldham Times: "It is an official Oldham Council priority to reopen Diggle Station so there must be no delay.

"Councillor Garth Harkness (Saddleworth North) has campaigned strongly for many years for a new Diggle Station.”

“Since 1968 there has been a lot of house building in Diggle and the population has nearly doubled.

A new station in Diggle would be a welcome boost for residents and especially for commuters, not just from Diggle, but also from Dobcross, Delph and Denshaw as well as from parts of Uppermill to Huddersfield and Leeds as well as to Manchester.

"Diggle Station is also well placed for hikers to access the Pennine Way.

"The site of Diggle Station off Sam Road is still available to reuse, whereas Saddleworth Station building was sold as a private house."

Dr Knowles believes the station could be rebuilt for between £2 million and £3 million.

Immediately to the west of the Standedge tunnels, the original Diggle station was opened in 1849 along with the first rail tunnel.

In its heyday, the station had platforms serving all four lines but little trace remains of it today, although the nearby signal box remains operational.

Oldham Council's cabinet member for neighbourhood services Cllr Ateeque Ur-Rehman, said “As (coouncil leader) Councillor (Sean) Fielding noted in the last council meeting, he and I will continue to lobby TfGM and central government for funding to reopen Diggle Station.

“We need a transport network that is fully interconnected and covers every part of the region.

“Investment in transport infrastructure is absolutely vital if you want to improve the lives of people in Oldham.”

A Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) spokesperson said: “There are currently a number of infrastructure and operational constraints which limit the opportunities for re-opening Diggle station.

“However, the TransPennine Route Upgrade and Northern Powerhouse Rail developments may provide the opportunities to unlock these constraints in the future.”