RAIL companies are not popular. They attract complaints and criticism by the sackload, but rarely any praise.

GNER is different. Passengers like it. More than 15,000 of them have signed up to its campaign to Back The Bid. That is an astonishing public vote of confidence.

If the seven-year franchise to run the East Coast Main Line were awarded by passengers, GNER would be a shoo-in. Instead we must wait for the verdict of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) next month.

This is by no means a foregone conclusion. GNER faces tough competition from three other bidders, including a Virgin- Stagecoach consortium.

It is a fight to the death - with hundreds of York livelihoods and the city's status as a railway centre on the line.

The battle has been energetically spearheaded by York MP Hugh Bayley. He knows full well what the loss of GNER would do to the city. At least a thousand people would lose their jobs.

Gone, too, would be a major city benefactor. GNER has underlined its pride in York with sponsorship and involvement in all manner of community projects. And the city would lose its last rail headquarters, ending an era which began with railway king George Hudson.

GNER takes no public subsidy and has invested millions to increase services and punctuality. Most of all, though, the passengers want it to continue.

We urge the SRA to award the franchise to GNER and keep this success story on track.

Updated: 12:07 Wednesday, February 09, 2005