FRUSTRATED rail passengers could finally see an end to their misery last night after months of chaos following the Hatfield crash.

East Coast main line journey times are to be substantially reduced with the introduction of a new timetable from Monday, following the completion of engineering work.

But it could still be April or May before services are fully restored to pre-Hatfield levels.

Details of the improved timetable came as Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson pledged to halve fares on the West Coast line throughout next month to try and tempt passengers back on to the rails.

East Coast operator GNER responded by pledging to reveal its own special offers. A spokesman said: "We're looking to announce something for travel later in the spring which might prove better value."

GNER revealed yesterday that the lifting of many of the speed restrictions on the line means it will be able to cut journey times.

The move will take 50 minutes off the fastest journey between Darlington and London King's Cross, to two hours 51 minutes, and 45 minutes off the Newcastle to King's Cross, to three hours 23 minutes.

But this will still be longer than the pre-Hatfield journey time of two-and-a-half hours for Darlington and three hours for Newcastle. GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett said: "We are well on the way to restoring the full level of fast, frequent services that our passengers have come to expect.

"We are confident that a return to normal service will restore passenger confidence in long distance, high-speed rail travel."

GNER is also increasing the number of trains it runs per day, from 86 to 104, still 85 per cent of its total. A spokesman said: "We are substantially there, to a point where people can actually believe that the rail service is a good way to travel again.

"It brings Darlington and Newcastle back within easy reach of London for day return journeys, which is something the business community has been keen to see."

Research published last week predicted it could take years to tempt back passengers who deserted the railways amid the chaos following the Hatfield crash.

Sir Richard claimed his pledge was "the world's biggest rail offer" and said yesterday that drastic action was needed to persuade passengers back on to the trains.

He said: "We believe that radical measures, such as our new offer, will capture the imagination of passengers who have suffered traffic jams and delayed domestic flights over the past few weeks.

"Now is the time to recover passengers lost in the last three months and kick-start travel by train.

"If we can get people back on the trains and get them to experience trains again, we will keep them."

The move will see first class tickets from London to Manchester cut from £230 to £115 and London to Birmingham down from £137 to £68.50. Savers fares from London to Glasgow will go from £77 to £38.50.

Fran Critchley, of the North-East Rail Passengers Committee, welcomed news of reduced journey times.

She said: "It is a move in the right direction but they have still got some way to go.

"It is a shame it is taking so long for things to get back to normal and they are going to have to work very hard to win back the passengers they have lost."