I AM at a loss to understand the decision by Rail Regulator Tom Windsor to decline permission for Grand Central Railway's proposed new Transpennine rail service.
Yes this would have paralleled other train operators on some sections of its intended route. But it would also have reintroduced a decent rail service to other areas, notably along the Calder Valley corridor.
The reopened Brighouse station might have become a parkway for the M62, offering a green alternative to driving to Leeds and York.
Grand Central was planing to use surplus Intercity 125 high-speed diesels, which offer far superior comfort, leg-room and storage space for luggage, cycles etc compared with the existing Transpennine trains.
Hull Trains is allowed to operate over the East Coast route, between Doncaster and London. It has a revenue-sharing agreement with GNER. Why can the same rules not apply elsewhere?
The sooner that the mishmash of rail industry regulators are removed the better.
If chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority Richard Bowker was in charge of everything we might regain a railway that is run by railwaymen, for public benefit.
Paul Hepworth,
Windmill Rise,
York.
Updated: 10:38 Thursday, June 24, 2004
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