A YORK train company has been accused of letting people down by failing to provide an early morning service into York when the Tour de France takes place on Sunday.

Former Selby MP John Grogan, who is now Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Keighley and Ilkley, said Northern Rail’s first train into York did not arrive until 10am.

He called on the company to think again and at least put on a couple of earlier trains, adding that officers at councils along the route were under the impression it had agreed to put on early trains and run a near Monday to Friday service.

But service delivery director Alan Chaplin said that while draft train plans would have been discussed in planning stages, no promises were made.

However, the company was providing almost 50 per cent additional capacity across its network in preparation for Le Tour visiting Yorkshire. “This is a huge contribution to the event’s public transport services,” he said.

“We are also sending volunteers from Northern to stations along the route to provide additional support to our employees and visitors on the day.”