BULLET trains, cutting the journey between Preston and London to just two hours, are claimed to be on the way in the next eight years.

Passengers who have railed against the shortcomings of current Fylde Coast train services to London can look forward to high-speed improvements.

That is the pledge of Virgin Rail, which took over the 15-year franchise for West Coast Main Line services last March, and Railtrack, which looks after the rails.

The two companies are investing more than £2 billion in modernising the lines to allow speeds up to 125mph and buying 40 new tilting trains, faster than conventional trains, to replace the ageing fleet.

This should cut journey times from Lancashire to London by half-an-hour by 2002, they say.

After that, a further £600 million has been earmarked to upgrade the lines to take speeds of up to140mph, and add a further 15 tilting trains.

This, they say, should allow journey times of just two hours between Preston and London by mid-2005.

Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden, who has long campaigned for Fylde rail improvements, raised the issue of Blackpool's lost direct link with London when he met transport minister Glenda Jackson.

"She is keen to see the direct rail link restored and we'd both like to see it operating by the end of 1998," he said.

"I intend to keep pressing Virgin Rail on the matter and have been assured of Glenda Jackson's support."

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