MPs have urged passengers to give a final push to GNER's bid to be allowed to continue running train services on the East Coast Main Line - as rail chiefs confirmed a decision would be made by mid-March.

Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for City of York, said it was vital the public continued to lobby the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) ahead of an announcement on which firm would operate the high-speed line.

York-based GNER is battling FirstGroup, Danish Railways and a Virgin-Stagecoach consortium for the right to run 125mph expresses on the 400-mile line linking London, Yorkshire and Scotland.

The SRA, which oversees the railways for the Government, told the Evening Press that the winner of the two-year franchise contest would be named "in the first couple of weeks of next month."

A spokesman said: "The new franchise is due to start on May 1 so it is imperative we have the company awarded that franchise in place then. We will definitely make an announcement by mid-March."

Mr Bayley said: "If passengers and people in York want GNER to retain the franchise, they should keep up the pressure on the Strategic Rail Authority. Every message of support drives home that message."

Last month Mr Bayley told MPs during a debate at Westminster that if GNER did not win the franchise it would "send out the message that quality and reliability are not valued and are not to be rewarded."

GNER - branded the "jewel in the crown" of Britain's railways - is seeking to win a seven-year franchise deal, with a three-year extension if it meets stringent performance targets.

Nearly 30,000 satisfied customers have signed declarations of support for the company's bid to continue running trains on the line.

They have praised the fact that some fares were now cheaper than when the franchise was awarded while passenger numbers have increased, taking traffic off the roads.

GNER has also made a "significant" £100 million investment in rebuilding trains, improving car parks, modernising stations and improving information for passengers.

Yet the company receives no Government subsidy - unlike other inter-city rail companies - and, instead, has paid more than £70 million into Treasury coffers over the least three years.

Updated: 10:17 Tuesday, February 22, 2005