York-based main line train operator GNER has welcomed a decision which will allow it to run extra services between London and York in a bid to beat overcrowding.

The move by the Rail Regulator follows two hearings earlier this year into competing bids for limited "train paths" on the busy East Coast Main Line.

Subject to Government approval GNER hopes to reach agreement with Eurostar (UK) Ltd to lease two of its trains, which would provide extra services between London King's Cross and York from next May.

Nearly two million extra seats a year would be added to GNER's capacity.

Leasing additional trains would be a medium term measure, prior to the planned introduction of a new GNER fleet of 25 high-speed tilting trains from 2004 as part of a new franchise.

GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett said: "This is excellent news for passengers along the length of the route.

"Running more trains will enable us to provide more seats and ease passenger demand on our most heavily used Anglo-Scottish services."

Subject to a satisfactory deal, the leased trains would integrate with GNER's existing service to provide nine additional services each weekday and six extra on Sundays, including stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Retford and Doncaster en route to York.

GNER, which has achieved a 22 per cent growth in passenger numbers since starting its franchise in April 1996, says the extra trains are badly needed to keep pace with growing demand.

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