I APPLAUD the Evening Press campaign to support GNER's claim to win the new contract. The rail network has come in for a lot of ridicule lately but GNER has always provided a good and courteous service. This bid is crucial for the prosperity of York's economy.
N Fletcher,
Langton Road,
...WHILE I can agree with some aspects of your campaign in support of GNER, especially the benefits for local employment, I think a few points need to be made.
When GNER took over the operation of the East Coast Main Line (ECML), they had the great advantage of being able to operate a recently-introduced set of electric trains running on a line on which millions had been spent on electrification and upgrading the track and signalling infrastructure (compare this to what Virgin inherited on the West Coast Main Line). It would have been difficult for GNER not to have been successful.
The problem is that Railtrack needs to spend many millions of pounds on the whole rail system and it must therefore be questionable whether the very high proposed spend on further upgrading of the ECML to save ten minutes on a York to London journey can be justified.
The objective question that should be asked is how can investment be made - using a significant amount of tax-payers' money - to give the most benefit to the largest number of people? There are many national routes where the standard of service falls well below that normally offered on the existing ECML.
The 'hold' on investment decisions may be well justified.
David Randon,
Blue Slates Close,
Wheldrake,
York.
...IT is a shame that the Evening Press has decided to take sides in the Tweedledee versus Tweedledum battle for the East Coast rail franchise.
It doesn't matter two hoots to most passengers and rail workers whether they are being over-charged and under-paid by GNER or Virgin. The end results are the same: a questionable safety record and inflated profits in the pockets of the fat cats.
I suspect the people of York would have been more impressed had you chosen instead to launch a petition demanding the re-nationalisation of the railways.
Frank Ormston,
Waverley Street,
The Groves, York.
Updated: 11:36 Tuesday, February 27, 2001
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