Commuters have reacted angrily to a proposal which would see intercity services through the East Midlands halved.

Under the plan Turbo Star trains to Beeston and Nottingham from London and Leicester would be reduced.

Instead they would be diverted to Manchester while the West Coast Main Line is improved.

The reduced service would last for 15 months from next May.

'People upset'

But Broxtowe MP Nick Palmer has begun a petition to stop the proposals going ahead saying commuters in the East Midlands will miss out.

Nick Palmer says many commuters will miss out

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "The whole proposal is to protect the Manchester commuters at the expense of Nottingham and Beeston commuters.

"People are very upset. We realise we need to have transitional arrangements during improvements to the rail line, but we shouldn't be the only ones to suffer.

"We believe they have done a lot of good work in building up the service from Beeston but they are throwing it all away."

'Minimal disruption'

He said the Turbo Star trains from London St Pancras should split at Leicester with half the trains going on to Beeston and Nottingham and the other half to Manchester.

Midland Mainline said it was still negotiating with the Strategic Rail Authority to decided how services will be affected by the West Coast Main Line upgrade.

A spokesman for the rail firm said any disruption would be kept to a minimum.