'Tireless champion' for Harrogate railway passengers is praised in Parliament

Tom Gordon, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, paid tribute to the legacy of the late Brian Dunsby OBE, a tireless champion for Harrogate’s rail links, who died in January.

The Liberal Democrat MP praised Mr Dunsby’s instrumental role in securing the direct Harrogate-to-London train service, which now runs six times a day.

But Mr Gordon also made it clear that much more still needs to be done and is calling for Government action to dual the track between Knaresborough and York, a crucial step toward a more efficient, reliable railway.

“We don’t need more meetings, we need real action,” he said.

"People in Harrogate and Knaresborough deserve a rail service that works for them, not one with limited capacity and bottlenecks. “If we want people to choose public transport over cars, we have to make it a viable, reliable option.

"That starts with dualling the track between Knaresborough and York to boost capacity and ensure more frequent services.”

The Harrogate MP’s intervention saw the Transport Minister fail to commit to any immediate solution, offering only the prospect of a future meeting with the Rail Minister.

In response, Mr Gordon met with Northern Rail the next day and rode in the train cab along the route to see the lack of infrastructure and investment on the line.

The Harrogate and Knaresborough MP said: “I will keep pushing the Government to stop dragging its feet and start delivering the investment our rail network so desperately needs.”

Thanks to the efforts of the late Brian Dunsby, trains between Harrogate and York were increased from two per hour to four, while a direct line between Harrogate and London was established and later developed to a two-hourly service.

Such was his reputation that, at the launch of the new Azuma service, Mr Dunsby was invited onto the platform to speak.

He was made an OBE in 2017 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the community.