Opinion: Speed up train work

Blackpool transport chief John Jones urges rail bosses to speed up their work to increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line.

I’m astonished that the work to increase capacity on the lines is expected to take this long. It’s vitally important that we bring in a direct line to Blackpool. We’ve been campaigning for this service for a long time but we simply cannot afford to wait for yet another three years.

It will help to put Blackpool on the map to millions of people who live in London, as well as making commuting between here and the capital a much more feasible proposition for many.

I’m really pressing for us to get the line up and running as soon as possible, but this will only be achieved by working to tighter timescales.