Scarborough and Whitby MP backs calls for half-hourly train service between Scarborough and York

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, the MP said she had raised the issue with York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith and said “we need that half-hourly train service back in play.”

Ms Hume added: “We also need to look at Seamer and how we improve that station and make the most of what that can offer.”

On Monday, the transport secretary Louise Haigh reaffirmed the Government’s plan to renationalise nearly all passenger rail services within five years.

It comes as Mayor David Skaith said he was determined to get an increase in the frequency of trains running between York and Scarborough.

The route currently has one train an hour run by TransPennine Express and Mr Skaith said meetings with Network Rail and train operators in the region were underway to realise the plans.

Studies have also shown that TransPennine Express has had some of the highest rates of cancellations of any provider and last May the previous Government brought it back into public ownership.

The issue of transport connectivity and efforts to improve it in places such as Scarborough was also discussed at the Labour Party conference.

Speaking at a fringe event this week, Prof Charlie Jeffery, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of York, said: “We have a combined mayoral authority in York and North Yorkshire now and we are actually thinking about Scarborough, which is about an hour away [from York].”

“As part of the same economic geography with its assets, it has a branch of Coventry University, there’s a further education college, and GCHQ is there, it’s on the sea and has access to the marine environment.

He added: “It becomes part of the regional economic development equation in a way that it never would have done if it weren’t for a combined mayoral authority, which other places might also want to consider.”

At the same event, Jessica Bowles, director of strategy at Bruntwood, said: “There plenty of coastal towns in particular that only have 180 degrees area that they are looking into and they are much more challenging places.

“But I think that creating connections, be they physical or also research connections is also going to be an important part of the answer for towns.”