DalesRail is a railway passenger service operated for tourism in the summer months across Cumbria, Lancashire and North Yorkshire, England.

With the re-opening of most stations on that line, the DalesRail brand continues with services from Blackpool and Preston to Carlisle via Clitheroe and Hellifield.

[3][note 1] The Settle–Carlisle Line was being progressively rundown during the 1970s, and with the introduction of DalesRail, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Committee were hoping to increase the number of people using the train.

This allowed the residents of the Dales a day out shopping, and meant revenue was increased as tickets were charged in two directions, so costs were then kept to a minimum.

[8] Fears of over-ordering stock from British Rail, led to the WYPTE using fewer carriages on DalesRail services in an effort to fill the trains rather than have spare seats.

[14] Use of the line through Clitheroe first occurred in 1978,[15] and the success led to a small number of Christmas shopping specials run during weekends in December.

[20] Initially, those objecting to the closure plans were mainly those who lived in the communities along the line, but this was later extended to anyone who used the DalesRail or excursion services.

[22] Many co-ordinated guided walks and local buses are timed to connect with the DalesRail trains on a Sunday,[23][24] affording people the opportunity to travel to destinations away from the railway, such as Hawes, Leyburn and the lower Wensleydale valley into Northallerton.