THE Bury councillor who leads the present unelected North West Regional Assembly has welcomed plans to invest £260m in the northern rail network.

Cllr Derek Boden is pleased with the decision to award the main northern rail network franchise to First Group.

The company's bid promises a new fleet of trains, station upgrades and £260m investment.

But Cllr Boden has warned the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and the Rail Regulator that delaying upgrades and cutting local services would be catastrophic for the North-west economy.

His warning follows reports leaked to the BBC this week stating that the SRA told bidders for the new northern rail franchise to find out how much they could save by replacing off-peak train services with buses.

That came a week after Rail Regulator Tom Windsor called for a delay on plans to upgrade the West Coast Mainline.

Cllr Boden said: "I welcome the news that First Group has won the new Trans-Pennine franchise. But the importance of the West Coast mainline and other local rail links cannot be over-stated.

"The stranglehold placed on the regional economy by cuts to services together with delays to modernisation could be catastrophic."