York MP Hugh Bayley has warned that Yorkshire businesses are being severely hit by the rail crisis disrupting services from the North to London.

He said: "Businesses in Yorkshire are paying a very heavy price."

He criticised Connex managing director Olivier Brousse for complaining that Railtrack was concentrating work to restore rail services on the main lines rather than commuter routes in South East England.

Mr Bayley said: "It is essential to get north-south travel back to its normal speed as quickly as possible.

"London has not faced the same problems because commuters are able to get to work.

"It's a real cheek for Connex to claim it cares about its customers when it has just lost one of its commuter franchises because of the appalling service it provides to passengers.

"This fixation on London does not give me much confidence in Connex's bid to run the TransPennine Express."

Four groups have been shortlisted for this northern franchise.

They are Arriva, franchisee of Northern Spirit and Merseyrail; ConnexTransport UK, which is losing its South Central franchise serving Sussex; Serco Rail; and ViaGTI, in partnership with FirstGroup.

The new franchise will link York with Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool and Manchester.

Meanwhile business people in York and North Yorkshire were drafting a plea to the region's MPs to fight for more cash for flood defences and for quickly normalising disrupted rail links.

Roland Harris, chief executive of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said today that by the weekend MPs Hugh Bayley, John Greenway (Ryedale), David Curry (Skipton & Ripon), Anne McIntosh (Vale of York) and Phil Willis (Harrogate) will have received a letter stressing the continuing impact of the two issues on the regional economy.