A RAIL link between York, Haxby and Strensall should be running in three years.

Members attending a City of York Council Transport Scrutiny Board meeting next week will be told that the two new rail stations will be constructed by the summer of 2005.

But the council will have to tender for contractors to build them after Railtrack said it wanted no part of the building works.

A report, given to members, also reveals that the council had to bring in an independent consultant to provide a timetable after Railtrack and Arriva Trains Northern were unable to agree an "acceptable" timescale.

Rolling stock will also not be available for another three years, but its availability means the Strategic Rail Authority is now likely to approve the scheme.

Liberal Democrat leader Coun Steve Galloway said he was delighted that members were finally getting answers about when the scheme will be in place.

The Liberal Democrats asked for the scheme to go before scrutiny because they were frustrated with "broken promises" and a lack of progress.

The report states that the service will be operated by a single train offering an hourly service. This will become more frequent at peak times.

The council is also investigating safety issues at the Bootham Level Crossing concerning its possible upgrade from a half-barriered to full-barriered crossing.

However, plans to double the track on the approach to Scarborough Railway Bridge appear to have been dismissed.

Coun Galloway said: "We asked for the meeting because of promises that have been made in the past which have not been honoured."

A Railtrack spokeswoman said: "Obviously, we would liaise closely with whoever carries out the contract."

Updated: 14:17 Monday, September 02, 2002