IT should have been a rare day when rail passengers could enjoy entirely good news.
Not only has the Government agreed to bring forward its extra funding for Railtrack, but GNER has launched a £5 ticket from York to London.
But the optimism engendered by these developments has been hit by news of another setback in the East Coast Main Line franchise battle.
Both GNER and Virgin have been asked to respond to a plan to make the track upgrade the joint responsibility of Railtrack, the franchise victor and the Strategic Rail Authority.
GNER is upbeat, saying this is the last hurdle it has to overcome to win the franchise.
We hope the company is right. The sooner it is granted the new franchise, the sooner passengers can look forward to improvements to the service.
Updated: 10:34 Monday, April 02, 2001
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