Train journeys between Nottingham and Leeds will be quicker than ever before after a new network deal was signed.
The Department of Transport has announced Arriva has secured the Northern Rail Franchise from April next year, which includes the services between Nottingham and Leeds.
The east to west service between Sheffield and Lincoln via Worksop and Retford will also improve.
The longer trains with more seats will reduce overcrowding and cater for future growth.
Nottinghamshire County Council has been pressing for improvements on both routes for several years, and when the Department for Transport published the invitation to tender franchise in March, any company bidding to run the line had to promise faster journeys.
Councillor Steve Calvert is the vice-chairman of the Council’s Transport and Highways Committee
He said: “We are understandably delighted that all our hard work has paid off and that we can take credit for the increase in speed on the Nottingham to Leeds service.
“We have been campaigning hard for years to secure improvements to both services and are keen that people across Nottinghamshire get the rail service they deserve.
“The Nottingham to Leeds through service was introduced seven years ago after our campaigning and this is upgrade is testament to its success.”
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Under the new franchise, Arriva has committed to reducing journey times on the Nottingham to Leeds route from the end of 2019 by 20 mins, from two hours to one hour 40 minutes.
The change will be achieved by by re-routing and faster acceleration of new trains.
Brand new 100 mph trains will also be introduced on the service from December 2019, or sooner if the company can get them built and delivered by an earlier date.
The new trains will have Wi-Fi throughout and more carriages.
“In terms of the Nottingham to Leeds route, the significant cut in journey times will be a massive boost for economic development and improve the traveller experience, transforming the route into an express service between the powerhouses of the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside, stopping at fewer stations,” Cllr Calvert added.
“The longer trains with more seats will reduce overcrowding and cater for future growth.”
The express route will also be extended on to Bradford with a train every hour, which provides the city with a direct link to Nottingham.