Next Tube calling at Harrogate via York

An ambitious scheme to utilise old London Underground trains on a commuter line between Harrogate, Leeds and York was unveiled by business leaders in Harrogate.

Old District Line trains could be used to ease a lack of capacity on the route. The BBC report "These electric trains trains would prove 60% more seats than the current service, experts believe.

The use of these trains would mean electrifying the line - but not with the overhead power cables used elsewhere.

The power would come from a rail mounted a couple of feet above the track and a "current collector" would run along it, feeding electricity to the trains' motors."

Commuters in the area would see the trains between Leeds and Knaresborough running every 15 minutes and between Knaresborough and York could be boosted to every 30 minutes.

Brian Dunsby the Chamber's chief executive said the idea was: "a modern low-cost ground-level electrification system, similar to that used on the Docklands Light Railway.

"This should be more reliable and much simpler and quicker to install than the conventional overhead electrical systems used on the East Coast and West Coast mainlines."

If successful, the service could be running by 2014.