RAIL passengers and commuters in York look set to lose out when plans for a new high-speed rail link are unveiled later this year.

The Department for Transport (DfT) says it remains likely the new route will be on the West Coast Main Line, rather than its easterly counterpart.

A Government-appointed firm is drawing up proposals to be revealed at the end of the year. The DfT said the current focus was on the west coast. Previous plans, drawn up in 2007 and made public under the Freedom of Information Act last week, showed that £10 billion could be spent on adding a track to the York line, which would knock only eight minutes off the London to York journey time.

A DfT spokesman said the second stage would look at where the route would go next – either to Manchester, Scotland or the north east.

The 2007 reports published last week showed people could get from London Euston to York in 96 minutes, using the high-speed line. The quickest daily Kings Cross to York service is currently 104 minutes.

The spokesman said: “In terms of savings in journey times, they were already talking about going up the west coast mainline, so for massive savings in journey times to York you might need to look at a direct high-speed line up the east coast.”

Susie Cawood, York head of the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We welcome any proposals for a high-speed rail link and it could be vital in boosting regional business activity. This is obviously something we would welcome.”