The changes would go ahead in December 2008

Virgin plans to increase services to London from Manchester, Glasgow and Liverpool but reduce some services from smaller stations.

Independent rail watchdog Passenger Focus has organised the conference in Preston to discuss the plans.

Groups from Manchester, Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire are attending.

The new timetable for the West Coast Main Line is currently out for consultation with the Department for Transport (DfT).

'Better service'

If it gets the go ahead it would be implemented from December 2008.

David Sidebottom, from Passenger Focus, said: "We know that a new timetable is always a compromise and while we believe many will enjoy quicker journey times from the North West to London, there may also be losers.

"We'll be keeping a close eye on the changes to see who these are."

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said the changes would offer a better service for passengers.

He said: "We'll be running a service every 20 mins from London and Manchester from 2009 - at the moment it is every 30 minutes.

"Clearly this will offer about 50% more seats than we have at present.

"We will still have the same number of trains, so the smaller stations may lose occasional services.