DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott has been called in over confidential plans to cut train services between Chester and Warrington.

Proposals by North Western Trains to half the frequency of services between the town and Chester have come under fire from Cheshire County Council and Warrington's transport chairman.

But operators North Western Trains say the plans are only in the "very early stages" and are "disappointed" that the county council had gone public with the timetable blueprint.

County council leader Derek Bateman has lobbied Mr Prescott with fears about the move and Fairfield councillor Mike Hughes is also worried.

Explaining their fight, Clr David Robinson said: "We are acutely concerned at the possibility of a reduction of service levels and any such proposals will be strongly resisted."

Reductions in the Chester-Warrington timetable would not only hamper commuters between the county's two largest centres but affect those who used the service as a link for West Coast Main Line journeys to Preston, Carlisle and Scotland, added Clr Robinson.

The problems will also be raised with representatives from the Office of Rail Passenger Franchising and the North West Regional Association.

Backing the county's objections, Warrington's chairman of strategic planning and transportation, Clr Mike Hughes, said it was completely contrary to current local government policy.

He added: "We would support the efforts of Cheshire County Council in promoting rail at a time when we are suffering from road congestion.

"We need to maintain rail links and this is the reverse of what we should be doing."

But a North Western Trains' spokesman said the county council was the only statutory body consulted about the changes who had "broken its confidence" and released details of its intentions.

He added: "The plans are very much in the early stages and these are only our initial thoughts on one particular service.

"The county council, for its own political ends, has chosen to concentrate on one aspect of our letter to them and not looked at the wider picture."

The spokesman said other benefits, such as new through services at certain stations, had not been mentioned. The only reason reductions in services were ever proposed were on commercial grounds where fewer customers were using the route.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.