CONFIRMATION of the shortlist for train operators lining up to run this region’s rail services has been greeted with a wave of pessimism.

Politicians and union leaders have expressed immediate concern about the dominance of foreign ownership amongst the “same old”

bidders amid warnings about service cuts, jobs being axed, ticket office closures and increased fares.

This is a crucial time for North-East railways.

The refranchising exercise, which will dictate the future for the next nine years, represents a golden opportunity to improve services in the part of the world which pioneered the railways.

It is a rare chance to ensure that the tired old Pacer trains, which run on the Northern service, are replaced with modern stock, and for innovative thinking to be introduced, such as a North-East version of the Oyster card which gives commuters better value for money in London.

This franchise is a lucrative prize – and the bidders must be made to work hard for it.

They must demonstrate a clear vision of how the Government’s £1billion investment in the North’s rail network will be spent, with the result being faster, more reliable and comfortable journeys, with better connectivity.

Instead, with the race still in its early stages, we already have gloomy predictions that our rail services are bound to go backwards.

Let’s be positive in the time we have left before the winner is announced in the autumn of 2015.

The region needs to come together behind a co-ordinated campaign, uniting the public and private sectors, to lobby for the best possible deal.

Our railways are important and we need to seize the moment. We need to be realistic – but we need to be ambitious.