A BID to take train passengers direct from Brighouse to London has hit the buffers.
Train operator Grand Northern wants to run services from Bradford to Halifax, Brighouse, Wakefield, Pontefract, Doncaster and London Kings Cross.
Network Rail was due to announce a decision on the application on Friday.
But the bid has been held up by a rival application from First Hull Trains to run a service from Harrogate to London, submitted on Friday.
Both companies want to use the East Coast Main Line.
Grand Northern managing director Ian Yeowart said: “Having come so far in assisting the industry to identify further capacity on the heavily used East Coast Main Line, it is extremely disappointing that First Hull Trains should, at the last minute, seek to take the paths Grand Northern has developed over the last three years for Bradford to use them for the much smaller community of Harrogate.”
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) will make a decision on the rival applications later this year.
If Grand Northern’s bid is successful, four trains a day could start to run from Brighouse to London in spring next year.
The company has longer term plans for trains to run direct from Huddersfield to London.
It has submitted a proposal for a service that would go from the town’s railway station to Stalybridge, Stockport and London Euston.
Trains could start as early as spring next year, but would more likely start running in about 15 months time.
Grand Northern is also looking at plans for a train service direct from Huddersfield to London Kings Cross via Mirfield, Wakefield, Barnsley, Sheffield and Worksop.
Mr Yeowart said that would take three to four years to become a reality.
