Tom Gordon MP met with the Minister for Rail last week to discuss the future of the York Area Capacity Scheme (YACS). Tom has long campaigned to dual the line and improve services for passengers between Harrogate and York.
The MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough urged the Minister, Lord Hendy, to reinstate the part of the scheme that has been indefinitely paused by the Labour Government. The Minister concurred that it is a sound investment and agreed to look into a timetable.
Skelton Junction is one of the most congested in the network, with passengers regularly held on the north approach to York Station. The bottleneck creates knock-on delays and poses a major capacity constraint.
Reinstatement of the YACS scheme would see an additional electrified track between the station and junction.
The scheme is estimated to cost around £150 million, a small fraction of the £7 billion being invested in the TransPennine Route upgrade. York sits between the TransPennine Route and the recent investment into the East Coast Main Line. The station has also upgraded to digital signalling. The relatively modest investment into YACS would ensure these other major schemes “could reach their full potential,” said Tom.
Writing to the Minister later in the week, Tom urged him to confirm the reinstatement of the scheme and provide a clear timeline for doing so.
Tom said:
A firm commitment would provide much-needed reassurance to passengers and strengthen the case for further improvements. If we fix the York junction, it unlocks potential to dual the whole line or introduce near around new developments in Flaxby or Knaresborough.
We need to speed up improvements – make it reliable for those who already commute and a viable option for people who want to travel sustainably.
