 The route was closed as the result of the Beeching Axe in 1965 – passenger services were withdrawn on 22 March, whilst the remaining through goods services ended on 5 July; the route eventually closed to all traffic east of Embsay Junction in January 1966 (though access to the Haw Bank quarry sidings at Embsay station survived until 1969).The last section west of there was retained as part of the freight-only branch line from Skipton to Swinden Quarry (the old Yorkshire Dales Railway) and remains in operation to this day.Since its closure in 1965, a stretch of the disused railway line has been restored and reopened as the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway.