THE RMT rail union has been accused of scaremongering after it claimed a number of seaside towns could see train services withdrawn.

The union said it was alarmed that decisions appeared to have already been made over the withdrawal of numerous destinations served by First TransPennine Express.

It said only Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, was to survive from a list including Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool North, Cleethorpes and Windermere.

The RMT claims arose from a briefing entitled Network Rail/First TransPennine Express Service Recovery Plan given to its members before the end of the recent consultation over the shape of the next franchise.

RMT Acting General Secretary Mick Cash said: “The withdrawal of the service to numerous towns would be a hammer blow to the people who rely on the service and to the local economy.

“RMT is seeking clarification from Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin on the validity of the briefing that was given to our members and an assurance that the current destinations covered by the Transpennine Express will remain protected.”

A spokesman for First TransPennine said the RMT was “unreasonably scaremongering”.

He said: “This is nothing to do with what the franchise will look like after 2016. It is the Department for Transport that will decide what the map will look like and nothing has been decided yet.”

The DfT has been consulting about a possible transfer of services from TransPennine, which is regarded as an inter-city operator, to Northern Rail, which runs numerous local routes.

It is expected to announce later this autumn what the terms of the new TransPennine and Northern franchises will be when it sets out the specification against which companies will bid.