CAMPAIGNERS will today (Tuesday, July 5) publish a charter calling on the Government to tackle what they claim is the "North-South rail divide".

The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) says the current Department for Transport consultation on the future of the Northern Rail and TransPenine Express franchises focuses on cost cutting and increased fares rather than investment to increase revenue.

The group is working with business leaders, unions and passenger groups to urge ministers to redress what it claims are significant disparities in transport between the North and South of England by investing in better quality, higher capacity and better connected rail services.

The charter sets out principles that campaigners say the new franchises must address. They include:

- Replacing 30-year-old diesel trains with more comfortable, reliable and accessible rolling stock.

- Launching a major programme of upgrades to stations.

- Ensuring faster, more regular and more reliable services, including programmes to increase capacity, cut journey times and tackle overcrowding.

- Better connections to the rest of the transport network, including smartcards and links to buses, trams and cycles.

James MacColl, head of campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport, said Northern cities deserved decent rail connections.

He added: "Too many people are stuck with old trains, slow services and stations with poor facilities.

"The Right Track North Charter shows how investment can tackle these problems, connecting communities, supporting the economy, and giving people choice in how they travel.”

The charter is supported by organisations including Aslef union and the Tyne Valley Rail User Group.

The CBT is writing to all MPs to brief them on its campaign and contacting the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin urging him to take a different approach to the consultation.

The charter is being published as the RMT union steps up its own campaign against the consultation.

RMT acting general secretary Mick Cash said on Monday: “Let’s not forget that the core of these plans is to axe jobs, throw the guards off the trains and jack up fares while capacity to meet surging rail demand in the area is left to stagnate."

In response, the Department for Transport said it had big ambitions for rail in the North that will transform services for passengers.

A spokesman added: "Over the next five years, we are investing more than £1bn in major transport improvements across the North, including the £600m Northern Hub and the electrification of the rail network."