YORK'S railway industry could have escaped a devastating body-blow - if only Government investment had come earlier.

That's the claim made by City of York MP Hugh Bayley, speaking to members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, the white-collar rail union.

Addressing the retired members' branch, Mr Bayley welcomed the Government's pledges to increase investment in the railways over the next five years. He said the plans, set out in the new white paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, included:

* £10 billion of additional investment in the railway between 2009 and 2014* Reduced congestion from new carriages providing almost 100,000 new seats, for use on busy lines such as York to Leeds* £150 million for refurbishing 150 mid-sized stations* £200 million for a new strategic freight network* A commitment to no line closures.

Mr Bayley told the former railway manager and clerks: "The number of passengers carried by the railway has increased by more than 40 percent since Labour came to power.

"Now the Government has pledged a further £10,000 million to tackle congestion with new and more comfortable carriages, and to improve stations. The aim is to double passenger and freight use of the railways in the long term.

"The new investment will run until 2014 and will complete the modernisation of the west coast line, but the Government is already working on new intercity trains and upgrading the East Coast Main Line is the next franchise of rail investment.

"These plans are a vote of confidence in the railways. There are long term pledges on investment so the railways have a secure and sustainable future.

"If only we had the funding to build 1,300 new carriages when the Conservatives were in power, the York Carriageworks would not have closed.

"This fact alone shows how rail policy has changed since Labour came to power."

* Also at the meeting, Mr Bayley was asked to promote the Veteran's Badge, which is now available to ex-service men and women who served in the armed forces up to and including December 31, 1984.

Mr Bayley has already forwarded applications for badges for 482 of his constituents and he says that other ex-servicemen and women who have not yet applied for their badges should contact their MPs for application forms.