Yorkshire's overcrowded railways are being boosted with a Government gift of about 200 more carriages - amid claims the Leeds hub was one of the biggest challenges it faces.

EXTRA trains planned for the North-East could be nothing more than London's cast-offs, it was claimed last night. Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly yesterday announced plans for 1,300 new carriages to be introduced nationwide between 2009 and 2014.

By DAVID HIGGERSON WHEN it comes to making an excuse for being a few minutes late, it's one of the text-book classics: My watch must be slow. Sadly for staff at one of Merseyside's biggest rail operators, it's an excuse which has been rendered redundant thanks to 21st- century technology.

By Anonymous Major improvements to rail routes and infrastructure around Manchester are to be the focus of a government study that aims to increase rail capacity in the north.

By Anonymous Rail infrastructure operator Network Rail will undertake a study to determine the best way to enable more and faster trains to operate across the North, the Department for Transport has announced.