EXCLUSIVE by Maxine Gordon

Ambitious plans are being drawn up to expand York's National Railway Museum into a huge single site with a monorail link for visitors.

The idea is part of a proposal by the NRM's trustees to expand the museum in the new Millennium.

A series of possible development options have been drawn up - including one which would involve diverting Leeman Road around the left-hand side of the museum, allowing it to be on a single site with a paved entrance square.

Traffic would be diverted along the southern edge of the museum site to Water End.

Under this idea, there would be new archive and storage buildings, a rolling stock display area and an information centre.

These would be built on land currently owned by Railtrack on the south and west sides of the present museum site.

An elevated train linking all the NRM's buildings could also be a feature of an expanded museum.

The NRM stressed the plans were only at discussion stage.

A spokeswoman said: "We have lots of ideas - but what we don't have is any money. The options document is a starting point - a set of proposals to allow us to start talking to partners to see what is possible."

She added: "We would like to develop for the Millennium and make the best possible use of the site we have got.

"One plan would be to redirect Leeman Road so when you come out under the bridge, the road turns left, freeing up our two sites.

"We could make it a much more integrated museum which would be more attractive and easier to use."

The museum was given National Lottery money to draw up its proposals for expansion into the Millennium.

However any expansion plan would have to win the consent of the city council, which is currently negotiating with Railtrack to buy the land between the NRM's existing two main buildings in a £1 million deal.

Bill Woolley, assistant director of environment and development services at the city council, said the council wanted to buy the site and then sell it on to the NRM to help realise its expansion dream.

He said: "The aim is to safeguard the land for the NRM because it is a key leisure facility in the city.

"Leisure and tourism are the main economic drivers in the city and we want the NRM to be successful."

Mr Woolley said a line for a new road from the south side of the museum to Water End already existed in the local plan.

However, he said councillors would need to see the NRM's final proposal and discuss any changes to Leeman Road with businesses and residents in the area before taking a view on the plan.

Work is under way at the museum on a £4 million new wing to provide space for more displays and also an outdoor balcony so visitors can see trains coming into York on the East Coast main line.

Last week, the Government announced the NRM would be among museums in the country eligible to bring in free admission for children next year, pensioners in 2000 and adults by 2001.

In the year to March, 420,000 people visited the NRM.

see COMMENT 'Steaming ahead'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.