It is not an ideal state of affairs to have local train services run by a company which does not seem to have its heart fully in its work. Yet that is the present situation in this area. It has arisen because the company MTL, which operated the Northern Spirit rail franchise, sold out to bus operator Arriva in February.

However, Arriva only agreed to operate the franchise for a year. It is, in effect, holding the fort until bids for a new franchise are considered. So it is perhaps not surprising that rail users should complain that the overall impression is that the trains are not cared for as they should be.

There are complaints that carriages are scruffy and windows too often dirty and there is litter on the floor. And then there are the reliability problems, with trains arriving late and some being cancelled, "driver shortage" being the reason frequently given.

For a fair proportion of the time, trains are reliable. But if yours is one of the trains which doesn't turn up and you have an important appointment to be at or a connection to catch, the consequences can be dire. The chances are that next time you will use your car.

If people are to be persuaded to commute by train and to use rail travel for business and pleasure, the service needs to strive for 100 per cent reliability. The Wharfedale Rail Users Group's requirements, as specified to the Strategic Rail Authority, are not unreasonable. The authority needs to find an operator which will be totally dedicated to meeting those targets.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.