A £2m penalty that the Strategic Rail Authority plans to impose on Arriva Trains North should be spend on supporting railways in the North-East.

Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, says that the £2m penalty should not go to the Treasury.

He said: "There is no doubt that this area has been starved of the resources it needs to maintain a safe, regular and affordable rail service.

"It cannot be right for £2 million to be taken out of the rail system in this area.

"We have already seen hopes dashed of improvements to the Leeds-Harrogate-York line with the collapse of Railtrack. The £2m is needed in this area now, not in Gordon Brown's coffers in Westminster."

The fine was announced last week following extensive service disruption in recent months.

Around 1000 trains a week have regularly been cancelled over the May to September period this year.

However a spokesman for the SRA said the fine would not go to Treasury coffers but be reinvested in the rail network - not necessarily in the North-East.