TWO rail companies who have snubbed Sunderland are trying to scupper an attempt to bring London express trains to Wearside.
Both GNER and TransPennine Express have formally objected to Grand Central Trains' application to run the services.
GNER runs trains between Newcastle, Durham and London but none to Sunderland, and TransPennine Express halted services from Sunderl
and to the North West in December.
In their responses to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), both companies say they feel there is not enough capacity on the East Coast Main Line to accommodate any more trains.
But Ian Yeowart, Grand Central's managing director, said:
"They don't like competition knocking on their door."
Our Back on Track campaign to support Grand Central has gathered more than 2,000 names backing the York company.
It wants to run four trains a day each way between Sunderland and London, stopping at Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk and York, then non-stop on the East Coast Main Line, from December.
It has to apply to the ORR for permission to run the trains, which has now gone out to consultation with other operators.
GNER's chief executive Christopher Garnett says his company "strongly objects" to any new trains running on the East Coast Main Line.
He says: "GNER does not consider that track capacity would exist for the Grand Central proposals in addition to the regular interval five trains per hour south of Doncaster.
"We are also concerned that a further operator on that line will mean a performance risk to all the existing operators.
Mr Garnett also says his company wants to run coach links to various stops on Teesside, including Hartlepool, which he says will fully cater for the needs of passengers there.
Vernon Barker, managing director of TransPennine Ltd, says in his letter that Grand Central's trains would take trade from other companies' services and have "adverse financial consequences" for his company.
Mr Yeowart said: "I'm surprised at the tone of the responses, particularly from TransPennine, a company that has the same kind of open access agreement with Hull Trains we are seeking."
A decision is expected by summer.
