TRAIN passengers on the York to Scarborough railway line are set for an array of upgrades over the next year, including new services, bigger trains, free Wi-Fi and improvements to Malton station.

The service enhancements were confirmed by operator TransPennine Express this week.

A spokesman said that rail customers in the Malton area can expect the onboard improvements, including at-seat power and media servers offering entertainment soon, as the upgrade has already started.

They added: “We are bringing in more seats from late spring 2018 with the introduction of five new carriage trains, providing 106 more seats per train than today.

“All services operating on the Scarborough to Liverpool Lime Street route will be operated by these new trains by the end of 2018.”

In terms of new services, the spokesman said: “From May 2018, we will be bringing trains in more services, including a new 6am departure from Scarborough designed to connection into the 7am departure from York for London King’s Cross, and later trains to/from Scarborough in the evening.”

In addition to these changes, Northern Rail’s franchise agreement with the Government means they too are due to introduce additional services between York and Scarborough.

Di Keal, town and district councillor for Norton West, said: “I absolutely welcome the improvements to the quality of services on York to Scarborough trains, especially the improvements in Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to work more easily while travelling and the increase in seating.

“Having used the train between Malton and York several times recently, the number of passengers standing, especially over the summer months, is totally unacceptable. Train travel is not cheap and being unable to get a seat adds insult to injury.

“The move to introduce early morning trains, enabling people to arrive in London at the start of the working day is also an excellent addition to the service, but in terms of this benefitting Norton and Malton we have to ensure that the train operators, Network Rail, district and county councils work together to get the infrastructure in place to cope with the increased train service.”

One of the other developments suggested by TransPennine this week are changes to Malton railway station - which in turn may prompt infrastructure changes to the surrounding area.

The spokesman said: “We are in discussions with local stakeholders about developing a funding partnership to enable a waiting room, toilet and additional car parking to be provided at Malton station.

“It is hoped that such station improvements can be delivered in partnership during 2018.”

Cllr Keal said: “Improving the station and creating more parking in Malton would be beneficial, but would not tackle to biggest problem which is this congestion around the railway crossing which will only get worse when more trains run on the line.

“Encouraging commuters to park in a new carpark in Norton and providing direct access via a pedestrian and cycle bridge to the station is the only solution to reducing congestion and an even bigger traffic nightmare for residents in the town.”