PARENTS in Castleton have won the fight to get their children back on the train to schools in Whitby.
But the battle continues as they try to ensure the youngsters travel by rail in the future.
At a public meeting in the North York Moors village last Friday night, Lawrie Quinn MP and county councillors Herbert Tindall and John Fort told parents that a meeting the previous day with rail officials had found a short-term solution to the school transport problem.
A row erupted in August when parents discovered children in Castleton would no longer be travelling on the train to school, as owing to refurbishment of the carriages by Arriva which would mean fewer seats.
Because of a North Yorkshire County Council policy which states children on school transport must have a seat, the council proposed to bus the youngsters from Castleton to school instead.
Parents were furious at the lack of consultation, the fact they found out about the plans when bus passes were sent to their children, and feared travelling by bus was impractical and dangerous in winter.
At the meeting, Mr Quinn explained that this week the children would be back travelling on the train, at least until December, but a long-term solution was yet to be found.
He said a misunderstanding between the county council and Arriva had led the authority to believe refurbished trains, with fewer seats, would be running on the line from September; but this was not the case.
Mr Quinn said: "Arriva Trains Northern will try to make sure the only trains running on that line until the end of the refurbishment period, which will be round about Easter, will be the ones that maximise the numbers of seats.
"That's the short-term position and why the county council felt it could reinstate the train passes from Monday."
Richard Owens, transport manager for the county council, said the service would be monitored until December and the situation reviewed as and when the numbers of seats changed.
"We will be giving reports to the executive member and keeping the local member and you as parents better informed," he said.
The county's executive member for transport, Coun Fort, told the meeting that work was being done to find extra funding to ensure the railway continued to be used by children to get to school, and was sustainable in the long term.
Parent Jill Cookson called again on the county council to review its school transport policy, which states children must have a seat, as it might not be appropriate for train travel. Mr Owens agreed to do this.
Mr Quinn said the long-term goal, to get the capacity issue on the Esk Valley line right, would see negotiations go to the top, and he hoped it would be resolved before December.
He also reassured parents: "The Strategic Rail Authority has already included in the documentation for the new franchise on this line, which will be issued next year, that the future operator has a duty to work very, very closely with the community."
Parents agreed to look into establishing a forum to give them a greater say in how the Esk Valley line was managed
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