I don't believe for one minute that the proposal as outlined in the OP is genuine but to address 2 points here
1) My first thought was that "if" it WAS genuine it would be related to the Sirius potash mine at Hawsker which I am sure by it's nature and scale will transform the economy of Whitby altogether.Whilst Sirius have gone for an underground conveyor for transporting the potash, if the Whitby - Rillington line was available in it's pre-1965 form it would be an easy way to transport large quantities of potash south for domestic use.
2) The argument that "railways generate new traffic" is a genuine and valid one. You only have to look at the reopening of the Alloa branch where the first year passenger figures were nearly three times as much as the "feasibility study" had predicted.
1) My first thought was that "if" it WAS genuine it would be related to the Sirius potash mine at Hawsker which I am sure by it's nature and scale will transform the economy of Whitby altogether.Whilst Sirius have gone for an underground conveyor for transporting the potash, if the Whitby - Rillington line was available in it's pre-1965 form it would be an easy way to transport large quantities of potash south for domestic use.
2) The argument that "railways generate new traffic" is a genuine and valid one. You only have to look at the reopening of the Alloa branch where the first year passenger figures were nearly three times as much as the "feasibility study" had predicted.