FOR far too long, the North has been hampered by second-class rail services and the opportunity to change that doesn’t come along very often.

But with a shortlist of operators having been chosen for the refranchising of the Northern Rail and TransPennine Express services, now is the time for the Government to insist on this part of Britain getting the rail services it deserves.

We have a year to make our case before the winning bidder is chosen in the autumn of 2015.

It is a year in which politicians, local authorities, and business leaders must come together to lobby for the best deal possible.

Make no mistake – these franchises are lucrative prizes. Six bidders are lining up for the race and it is up to ministers to demand forward- thinking, ambitious proposals to boost the region’s economic firepower.

In launching The Right Lines campaign today, The Northern Echo is challenging the people of the North-East to help shape the region’s public transport future for years to come.

We have set out our own demands on Page 4, but we need passengers to tell us about their experiences and underline what needs to be done.

In the months ahead, The Northern Echo will continue to apply the pressure on the bidders to earn the right to run our rail services – and on ministers at the Department for Transport not to accept second best.

We want more comfortable trains, improved stations, better customer services, faster connections, greater reliability, and smart ticketing – and every bidder must be made to tick each of those boxes.

The voice from the North-East must be heard loud and clear in Westminster – that the time has come to upgrade from shoddy second-class to modern first-class.