§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the(a) economic and (b) other effects of withdrawing Virgin train services to and from Blackpool North station. [93460]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Strategic Rail Authority made the changes to improve performance which had deteriorated with the introduction of Virgin's winter 2002–03 timetable. Frequent services will continue to be provided from Blackpool North to Preston from where passengers will be able to join Crosscountry and other main line services. This, by and large, was the position up to the end of the Summer 2002 timetable.