IRATE commuters are demanding a rethink after Skipton's only direct train to London suffered a timetable reshuffle and now takes half an hour longer to get to the capital.

It means business people in Craven and Keighley can no longer get to London in time for 10am meetings.

Until last week, the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) service direct to King's Cross arrived at 9.19am. However, while the service still leaves Skipton at 6.40am, the new timetable shows the same train arriving at King's Cross at 9.51am.

Skipton passengers wait 17 minutes in Leeds and have extra stops at Retford and Newark.

Burnsall resident and regular rail commuter Robert Fort described the change as disastrous.

In a letter to GNER, he stated: "Perhaps we Skiptonians are too few for you to worry about but there must be a better way to treat your customers and provide a service than this.

"The 06.40 Skipton departure now arrives in Leeds in time for passengers to watch not one, but two, London bound trains depart, whilst they sit for 20 minutes! Admittedly, one is the slow Midland Mainline service but, even so, it is difficult to see how the new timing is of benefit to anyone at all.

"At a time when the railway industry needs all the friends and popular support it can get, you are going about the business of keeping your customers happy in a most perverse way."

Skipton area businesswoman Gail Simon, who uses the service weekly, has started a petition and a website to co-ordinate protest at the change.

"Passengers are incensed. We can no longer get to 10am meetings in the centre of London," she said.

Her petition, demanding that the old timetable be reinstated, has already attracted more than 100 signatures.

"I collected 55 signatures between Skipton and Shipley last Thursday alone," Gail said. "All the people were very unhappy about the change." Another 45 passengers added their names on Tuesday.

She urged angry passengers to write to GNER, their MP and the Strategic Rail Authority demanding that the service be reinstated in the autumn timetable.

Skipton Chamber of Trade president Tony Barrett said the timetable change was a retrograde step. He said that anything that chipped away at the present service had to be treated with caution.

Tim Calow, chairman of the Aire Valley Rail Users' Group, also expressed disappointment at the alteration.

He told the Herald: "We are not happy about it. As far as we were concerned, the timetable before this change was very good, particularly for businesspeople going to London."

The direct service was introduced in October 1998 and the inaugural train from Skipton Station was sent down the line to the accompaniment of Skipton Properties Brass Band.

GNER's external relations manager Phil Bustard said that the changes to the timetable were due to other train operators using Leeds station, which was struggling to cope with the increased number of trains using it.

But, he said, there was some good news: from September and through the winter the waiting times at Leeds would be reduced.

"We share their concerns, and it is not for want of trying. GNER has tried very hard to avoid this extra standing time at Leeds for that particular service. Unfortunately due to the needs of other train operators, it has not been possible for us to gain any leeway," he said.

"We would like to say sorry to those passengers who rely on that service but we have had to accept the best we can do for now."

He said that in winter the train would leave Skipton at 6.55am, arrive in Leeds and after eight minutes, set off to London - arriving about 12 minutes earlier than in summer.

However talks between the operator and the Strategic Rail Authority have now ceased, and he said that this was the best they could do for the next year or two.