YORK council chiefs have joined the fight to keep the East Coast mainline's headquarters in the city.

City of York Council has invited representatives from a consortium of Stagecoach and Virgin to a meeting to discuss their shared interests in the flagship railway route, following the Government's decision to award it an eight-year franchise.

Sarah Tanburn, Interim Director of City and Environmental Services, said: “We hope to have their continued commitment to locating the headquarters for the franchise here in York.

"We hope they agree York makes complete sense for the management of the franchise, especially given our current strong commitment to ensure that the rail industry has the business environment that it needs to thrive."

Her comments came after York Central MP Hugh Bayley and York Outer MP Julian Sturdy both raised concerns that the new franchise, Virgin Trains East Coast, will abandon the city's traditional role in hosting the HQ, which goes back to before the Second World War.

Stagecoach refused to commit to keeping an HQ in York when quizzed by The Press on Thursday, saying only that the business would 'always have a base and a significant presence in York.'

Cllr David Levene, cabinet member for transport, said: "Following this announcement clearly our priority is to see the east coast mainline operation HQ retained in the city. I will be in touch with the new operator over the coming days, making the strong case for these jobs to be kept in the city. I think it’s important not to assume the HQ will be moved until the company has spoken publicly on this particular issue”.

Meanwhile, Brian Dunsby, chief executive of Harrogate Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the news of six more daily Harrogate-London trains under the new franchise. He said: "This is exactly what we have been working towards for five years and we are absolutely delighted that it looks like we have been successful."