Youngsters travelling alone by rail from North and East Yorkshire will from today be helped by a new "escort" service launched by GNER.

The Kids Go First service means youngsters aged between eight and fifteen can be escorted to and from the train before meeting their parents or authorised guardians.

Regular checks are made on the child throughout the journey.

The scheme is designed for busy parents unable to travel with their children. GNER's customer operations director Jonathon Metcalfe said: "Launching Kids Go First shortly before the Christmas school holidays provides an early Christmas present for parents, adding flexibility to their working and domestic lives.

"They have the reassurance that their child is in safe hands."

But he added that the service was not a babysitting facility and was not designed for children who need close supervision.

The service costs £7, is only available on selected services and must be booked at least five working days in advance. It can be reserved by telephoning (0345) 225444.

Children will be met at the station by a GNER representative and helped on to the train and settled down.

The representative then leaves the train before departure, but the guard will pay special attention to the children. At the destination, a GNER representative will meet the children from the train and then hand them over to the person designated to meet them, upon inspection of consent forms and satisfactory ID.

Today's launch coincided with the announcement that North Yorkshire county councillors are to discuss improvements needed to avoid bottlenecks on the East Coast Main Line. The line is reported to be close to capacity and this threatens to stand in the way of rail business which is currently booming.

Railtrack suggests upgrading lines currently not used and creating a bypass between Ferrybridge and Northallerton for freight trains.

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