ESTHER McVey will 'keep pushing' for two trains an hour through mid Cheshire, despite years of 'excuses' from rail bosses.

The Tatton MP, whose constituency includes Knutsford and Lostock Gralam stations on the Northern-run Mid Cheshire Line, raised the issue in the Commons.

Northern had pledged to introduce a second hourly service on the line when it won the franchise is 2015, but capacity issues have restricted progress.

Ms McVey said: “Northern won the franchise for Mid Cheshire Line and in its bid it was to see an increase in connectivity between my constituency and Manchester from one to two trains an hour.

"It was meant to happen in 2017 and now we are midway through 2019 and it has not happened.

"I have heard excuses from Northern, from Network Rail but what can the minister do to ensure that this happens, no more excuses, and this line frequency occurs?”

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said he understood frustrations of residents waiting for the service improvement and delivering the extra service was a priority.

He added: “[Ms McVey] is a great champion for commuters in her area.

"In terms of this service, there is a commitment in the franchise to deliver additional services on the Mid Cheshire Line but this has also proved to be very operationally challenging because of capacity issues in the area, particularly around Manchester and through Stockport.

"While I want to see the additional service delivered as soon as possible this cannot be done at the expense of performance and delivering a railway passengers can rely upon is the absolute priority, all options are being looked at to deliver these additional services and I will keep the House fully updated with progress and it will be a priority for me.”

Earlier this year, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling wrote to Ms McVey saying he had been advised by the Rail North Partnership that the proposals had been postponed, as both Northern and Network Rail believe additional paths cannot be accommodated without 'adversely affecting the reliability of other services on the network'.

Ms McVey added: “I am delighted Andrew Jones said options are being looked at and he will keep me informed.

"This extra capacity was promised and my constituents deserve a better rail service and I will keep pushing for this to make sure it happens.”