Strain-spotting if rail services were increased

From: Bob Faulds, Harrogate.

WHAT good news for Starbeck in Harrogate to hear that the train companies are inclined not to proceed with increasing the number of trains between Leeds and York from two to four per hour.

Had the frequency double,d there would have been many

things to consider. The delay to general traffic travelling between Harrogate to Knaresborough and vice versa – particularly when the trains come from opposite directions meeting in Starbeck at similar times – means the wait can be up to and in excess of five minutes. This wait would obviously double.

The amount of car fumes

permeating Starbeck High Street would automatically double. There can be 40 to 50 vehicles parked either side of the railway crossing when the barrier is down, many of which do not switch off their engines. How much pollution is generated while they sit there with their engines idling? There are occasions when the barrier

is down that an ambulance has to wait until the train has passed before it can proceed. These delays would, once again, be increased twofold. I would not wish to be the emergency patient waiting for the ambulance knowing that he could be parked on the other side of the barrier. Let’s hope that trains remain on their current timetable.