Getting Yorkshire back on line with London

Now, more than three decades since they last had a direct train service to London, and after some rolling-stock problems that threatened to derail the idea, they are about to be re-connected.

Next Sunday, Grand Central will start running trains to London from Halifax, Brighouse, Wakefield Kirkgate and Pontefract Monkhill, which could provide a huge economic boost for the towns as Britain emerges from recession.

It has not been an easy ride for Tom Clift, the managing director of the York-based operator, but he is confident the services will change the way Yorkshire folk get around the country and he can envisage a future in which the firm provides more neglected towns with a direct service to the capital.

Mr Clift, a rail enthusiast who has spent 38 years in the industry, describes Grand Central – with a nod to the old Heineken advert – as the train company which does something different to its rivals.

"We serve the parts of the rail network that others do not reach."

As an open-access operator, Grand Central does not receive a subsidy from the taxpayer. It makes its money from ticket sales and a share of the "any permitted" tickets bought from stations at which it operates. There would be little business sense in providing a direct rivalry to the East Coast line, so it takes passengers from smaller towns direct to London.

According to Mr Clift, the last time Halifax had such a service was 1978, Brighouse 1969 and Wakefield Kirkgate 1978. People living in Pontefract, he said, have not been able to go straight to London since 1863.

"The reason for doing it is that there is a high concentration of people that are not adequately served. We get quite a lot of support from the community because we are giving something that currently does not exist."

The communities' support has been tested, however, with a delay in acquiring high-speed trains and training staff, meaning that the original start date, due in December last year, was put back to this month.

Mr Clift admits that "the two things that are most difficult" in creating a new service are getting the rolling stock – 125mph trains are a condition for operating on the East Coast line – and the path, which are the lines on the actual track.

Now both are ready, however, and the West Riding service will have a special preview tomorrow before being launched at the weekend. It will offer three Intercity-style return trains a day between Bradford Interchange, Halifax, Brighouse, Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract Monkhill, Doncaster and London King's Cross.

In the long term, Mr Clift hopes to add more stations. Network Rail, the state-owned track operator, has been funded to undertake "route enhancements" by 2016, which means there could be more paths available, and if Grand Central gets involved, that would mean more trains to London.

"The first thing we may want to do is increase the number of trains on our existing routes but, medium term, we will be looking at extra destinations that fit the same business model, ie serving places that other providers cannot reach."

Mr Clift is careful not to over-hype this suggestion, because it is six years hence, but adds: "There are other potential opportunities in the North-East and Yorkshire that we may well look at", naming Teesside, the Huddersfield area, Sheffield, Barnsley, Retford and Worksop.

"We have had request from people to run from Scarborough and Harrogate to London."

Who?

"We are initially talking about local stakeholders like MPs, councils and bits of Yorkshire Forward."

The huge strain on the public finances could create more opportunities for Grand Central because, unlike the franchised routes, it does not ask the taxpayer to cough up, which could be music to the ears of Philip Hammond, the new Transport Secretary.

In the meantime, Mr Clift has to get more people onto Grand Central to fulfil his expansion plans. The company, which has 110 staff and turned over 12m last year, hopes to attract more passengers with cheaper walk-on fares than East Coast. A standard class off-peak return from York to London is 69, rising to 103 for an anytime service, and if customers buy their ticket on the train, it doesn't make a difference to the price.

"We don't believe that passengers are criminals if they don't have a ticket," Mr Clift said as he outlined the "big enough to work, small enough to care" attitude which he says is their style. It does beg the question, however, do people notice which company is running their train?

"We want people to enjoy the ambience and atmosphere and feel that they are being conveyed by a friendly outfit and getting value for money.

"I think a lot of people seek us out, especially if they tried us and liked us. We have a regular clientele and the train crew are familiar. People like the idea of it being a small company and that it is a bit of an underdog."

TOM CLIFT

Tom Clift joined the railway industry as an 18-year-old, in 1972. He has worked in a range of roles including operations, general management, business and resources.

He joined Grand Central in August 2007 and became managing director shortly before services began running.

He lives in a cottage in Bedale during the week and commutes to his family home, in Caerphilly, South Wales, at the weekend.

He also owns a former British Rail Class 26 diesel locomotive.

Grand Central is owned by Sula Investments and its own management.