THERE is light at the end of a long dark tunnel for Ilkley's grumbling rail commuters.

Complaints about battered old, scruffy rolling stock should become a thing of the past if a new package of rail improvements is introduced on time.

Members of the Wharfedale Rail Users Group (WRUG) have met with rail operators and hopes are high that a long-running rail 'saga' will come to an end before 2001.

Northern Spirit is confident the new fleet of trains will have been introduced by the end of next year - part of a £120 million improvement package.

Derrick Joanes, secretary of WRUG, said: "We are looking forward to the new trains being introduced. The present rolling stock is from the 1960s and there have been problems with them."

The new trains will have air conditioning, internal destination indicators and power-operated doors.

"The provision of new rolling stock could be viewed as the long-overdue culmination of the electrification scheme," he said.

When the Wharfedale line was electrified five years ago, there was considerable irritation that modernisation did not extend to the trains themselves.

However, WRUG members are concerned that new trains will not necessarily cure an old problem - overcrowding.

A spokesman said: "Both Metro and Northern Spirit are wanting to operate as near as possible to a 15 minute interval service between Leeds and Ilkley at peak times, but even with this level of service, the most popular trains will still suffer from overcrowding."

WRUG members are concerned that increasing numbers of passengers will not be catered for.

Howard Keal, a spokesman for Northern Spirit said: "We are seeing passenger numbers increase in the area by ten per cent year on year."

He said Northern Spirit would be consulting with the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and the rail franchising office on the issue. WRUG believes if a method of funding can be found, lengthening certain trains would appear to be an attractive option.

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