York train company Northern Spirit was rocked today by news that Arriva is seeking to buy its debt-ridden parent company MTL.

Arriva, one of the country's biggest bus operators, is offering £34.7 million for MTL's shares, as well as taking over MTL's net debts which total £50 million.

The company said Northern Spirit, which runs the Transpennine Express service from York to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool, as well as numerous local lines in Yorkshire and the North-East, was "significantly loss-making."

And it said it expected to operate the current Northern Spirit franchise in its present form for no more than 12 months, following the regulatory Shadow Strategic Rail Authority's announcement last month that it is seeking to change the franchise's geographic make-up.

An Arriva spokesman said it hoped services to passengers would be unaffected by the change in ownership.

A spokesman for MTL said: "The SSRA have said they are were considering separating out Transpennine Express routes from the franchise.

"But as far as Northern Spirit are concerned it's business as usual. There's no need for anyone to get jittery."

Graham Roberts, chief executive of MTL, added: "This offer ensures certainty for MTL employees, as well as the travelling public in Merseyside and across the north of England.

"It represents good value to MTL's employee shareholders, who have contributed to the growth of the business over the last eight years.

"Both MTL and Arriva have good records of investment in public transport and we are confident that this deal means the company is part of a larger group and will be better able to continue to develop to benefit the customers."

A spokesman for the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority said: "We anticipate that there will be franchise replacement sooner than the current renewal time of 2004.

"We have said that the current geography of the Transpennine routes is not set in stone. There could be changes and we have asked operators and would-be operators for their ideas on how things could be changed."

The RMT, the union representing conductors and other staff on Northern Spirit trains, said today it was seeking an urgent meeting with managing director Nigel Patterson to discuss the potential implications for its members. A spokesman said the announcement was unexpected, but the union had been aware of repeated rumours about MTL. "There's rarely smoke without fire."

The Transport and Salaried Staff Association, which represents white-collar employees of Northern Spirit, said it would continue its dialogue with the company's management. Asked if members were concerned, a spokesman said: "Naturally there's concern whenever change takes place."

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