RAIL passengers across Cumbria have been offered the tantalising prospect of reopened lines, 50 years after many were axed by the infamous Dr Beeching.

On Monday, January 28, the Government announced a £500m fund to help restore lines after they were culled in the 1960s to save money.

It's asking communities to make a pitch for the cash to reopen the long lost routes.

Rail chief Dr Richard Beeching caused consternation when he closed around 5,000 miles of railway line and about 2,300 stations across the country to save money – equating to one third of the network.

Carlisle lost the Waverley Line, a 98 mile stretch of line between the city and the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

Another major loss was Keswick station, along with the town’s rail lines to Penrith and Workington.

The announcement has been given a cautious welcome in the area but warnings have been sounded that existing infrastructure also needs to be upgraded.

County councillor Keith Little, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said he welcomed the announcement but added there was already “major issues” affecting lines across the county.

He added: “Any investment has got to be welcomed but the railways that we have already need to have millions spent without the promise to open new ones.”

He also said that more needs to be done to connect the county with transport hubs like Manchester Airport.

Campaigner Dick Smith, from the Lakes Line Rail User Group, which runs from Oxenholme to Windermere line,which runs via Kendal, said: “It is good to hear about plans to reinstate some of the lost lines, though the sums announced are small.

“For us in the Lakes Line area the priority is to see the capacity of the line to Windermere increased so it can offer a two-trains-per-hour service, which means having some double track so trains can pass each other.”

RMT regional organiser for the north, based in Cumbria, Craig Johnston, said: “I’m not a Conservative but I’m not going to attack them for opening railway lines as it something we have campaigned on for a number of years.

“A lot needs to be done, it is quite clear that there is a demand for the reopening of the Keswick to Penrith line.

“From an economic and environmental point of view it is the only way to go.”

Councillor Colin Glover, who represents Currock and Upperby on Carlisle City Council said that £500m was a "drop in the ocean" and that billions was needed to reinstate railways across the country and warned the money was only likely to be used in feasibility studies.

He said the previous Labour administration had championed a number of rail schemes including the extension of the Borders Railway to connect Carlisle with Edinburgh.

Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, speaking on Monday, said: “Many communities still live with the scars that came from the closure of their local railway more than five decades ago. Today sees work begin to undo the damage of the Beeching cuts by restoring local railways and stations to their former glory.

“Investing in transport links is essential to levelling up access to opportunities across the country, ensuring our regions are better connected, local economies flourish and more than half a century of isolation is undone.”

The government is already funding proposals for re-opening two railways, the £1.5m to the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne Line, Northumberland, and £100,000 to the Fleetwood line, Lancashire.

The £500m fund will help develop the delivery of schemes that are being considered for restoration.

The thousands of miles of railway that were axed under the Beeching cuts are in various states of repair.

Some some remain unused whilst others have been built over or put to other uses such as footpaths or cycle routes.