OUR sponsorship is all the more significant as this is the 21st year the awards have celebrated the many success stories in York and North and East Yorkshire’s business community.

As one of the larger employers in York, East Coast is proud of its connections with, and positive role in, this wonderful city. I’ve chosen to live as well as work here because York is such a special place, with a unique blend of history and beauty and with a vibrant and thriving economy.

These awards rightly celebrate the important role small businesses play in encouraging enterprising newcomers to enter the world of commerce. At the same time, it’s important to remember the pivotal role that larger companies, including East Coast, have in underpinning York’s economy.

East Coast employs more than 300 people in York, at the station, at our integrated control centre for the East Coast route, and at our head office, East Coast House on Skeldergate. Our presence and our people contribute greatly to the economic well-being of York, now and in the future.

We’re also delighted to be naming an East Coast train ‘City of York’ following a competition run with The Press to find a name which would help to promote York along the whole East Coast Main Line.

This reflects the important role we play in encouraging both business and leisure train travel to York – bringing thousands of visitors every year to the city, whose spending is crucial to a raft of large and small businesses.

Our new timetable, introduced from 22 May, has grown the number of weekday East Coast train services between York and London to 72 – an increase of 11 on the previous schedule. We now run more services at the weekend, too – and from the same date we launched our new First Class complimentary food and drinks service, featuring hot meals on weekday morning and evening trains, and a new First Class Quiet Coach.

Initial market research indicates that the changes have been generally very well received, showing that many people are voting with their feet and trying out the new service.

Since Victorian times, railways have been at the heart of York. The city has every reason to be confident about its economic future: its excellent location is easily accessed by train from London and much of the United Kingdom. We look forward to a bright future for York, its businesses and its railways.