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Railway bosses are hoping for capital decision |
| Written by Jonathan Malory | |
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Regulator's ruling is vital for company...and may mean more London services BY NIGEL SCOTT BUSINESS EDITOR at Leeds Today A VITAL decision which could mean many more trains running between Leeds and London will be announced this week.
The Yorkshire Evening Post revealed in August that plans by York-based train operator GNER to increase trains between Leeds and London could be derailed by rival Grand Central's bid to operate new services.Members of the Office of Rail Regulation have gathered to consider whether to allow greater competition on the East Coast Main Line which links Leeds and York with London and Scotland. GNER, which this year retained its East Coast Main Line franchise, has warned its expansion plans will hit the buffers if rail authorities approve its rival's plans. GNER wants to increase Leeds to London services from 53 to 65 a day as part of a strategy to meet its growth targets. It needs to increase passenger numbers by 30 per cent, to around 20 million a year, to meet payments to the Government under its franchise agreement. But Grand Central, also based in York, wants to operate 16 services from Bradford and Sunderland to London. Another operator, Hull Trains, a subsidiary of the First Group, has also applied for more services. Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Leeds City Council – still smarting from the loss of the city's planned Supertram – say Leeds's continued growth as a major business centre means the GNER expansion must be supported ahead of any other potential rail routes. The YEP obtained a copy of a letter written by GNER to major interested regional parties in December in which chief executive Christopher Garnett warned the company's development plans depended on receiving permission from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for the additional 12 services. Capacity Industry insiders claim that with the line already close to capacity and GNER committed to service increases to meet the requirements of its 10-year franchise, both Grand Central and Hull Trains are likely to come away frustrated. It is thought the decision will be made public later this week, possibly today. One option which may be considered by regulators is to free additional capacity on the line by reducing the space allocated to freight users. But it is likely this would be resisted by English, Scottish and Welsh Railways, the country's biggest freight operator. |