Cities get new direct rail link

Commuters in Nottingham and Leeds are set to benefit from a new hourly direct train service.

Northern Trains will be running the new service from 14 December, connecting the two cities directly by rail for the first time.

Carolyn Watson from Northern Rail said the new service had taken "a lot of work" but hoped it would prove popular.

The Department for Transport first announced plans for the Nottingham-to-Leeds service in 2006.

Rail commuters

"It's just like having a massive jigsaw where you have to make sure everything is in place," said Ms Watson.

"This is not only going to benefit people in Nottingham and Leeds but also the stations in between.

"We started running a fast service between Sheffield and Leeds a couple of years ago and we saw quite a move from people who'd previously commuted along the M1 to the train and hopefully we'll see a similar move with this new service."

Ms Watson added extra trains had been brought in to help run a good service and journey times between the two cities would take about two hours.