New Dewsbury to London train service and Wakefield Westgate improvements as Virgin and Stagecoach win franchise

Stagecoach and Virgin have been awarded an eight-year franchise to run the East Coast Main Line train service.

By Gemma Jimmison

Published 27th Nov 2014, 09:07 BST

The two companies have formed a consortium called Inter City Railways and will pay £3.3bn for the franchise, which starts on March 1, 2015.

Inter City Railways has said it plans to spend £140m on improvements, which will include introducing a daily service between Dewsbury and London from 2019.

Wakefield Westgate will benefit from additional cycle parking spaces from 2017 and open plan ticketing from 2018.

Leeds Railway Station will get five extra train services to and from London each day.

Passengers will benefit from new high speed trains from 2020 and upgraded train interiors before 2017.