Mayor of Greater Manchester and other Northern mayors have written to the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Transport to highlight poor performance by the rail operator Northern.
The letter outlines impact of cancellations and ‘Do Not Travel’ notices are having on lives and businesses across the North.
The letter follows yesterday’s meeting when
Rail North Committee summoned the rail operator to a special meeting to explain how they will address continued failures.
It’s feared, without intervention, the situation could get worse, affecting confidence amongst shoppers and travellers at the busiest time of the year. The Committee say the situation must be reversed in the interest of passengers and the region’s businesses, especially those in the retail and hospital sectors.
The meeting saw leaders interrogate the operator’s remedial plan to get services back to an acceptable standard as swiftly as possible. It followed a notable spike in cancellations, with the past week – half-term for many schools – seeing around 1,600 trains cancelled across the network – almost 10% of services – with a lack of mitigations in place such as ticket acceptance with other operators.
Weekend travel, particularly on Sundays, is worst hit, with Greater Manchester now regularly seeing between 30% and 40% of services cancelled. ‘Do Not Travel’ warnings have been issued on 45 occasions on Sundays across Greater Manchester routes, in many cases with no replacement bus services or alternative travel methods provided.
The meeting uncovered out of date ways of working, including the continued use of fax machines to communicate with staff, undermining public trust in the rail service.
The Committee also heard how services were impacted by infrastructure challenges, high staff sickness levels and the business’s reliance on staff working on rest days. This has led to last minute cancellations and overcrowded trains.
Greater Manchester Mayor and Chair of the Rail North Committee Andy Burnham said:
“Efficient and reliable public transport is a critical enabler of economic growth, a key ambition we share with the new government. What we heard from Northern at the meeting of the Rail North Committee was not good enough for residents and businesses across the north.
“That is why, on behalf of the Rail North Committee, I have written to the Chancellor and the Secretary of State to urge them to support us to bring the service back to an acceptable level. Significant modernisation is needed by Northern if they are to match our ambitions for growth.
“The Committee will be closely scrutinising Northern’s plan and seeking assurance that they are addressing the points raised at the meeting, when the Committee meets again on 20 November. We would welcome the Government’s full support in implementing the necessary actions, especially in the urgent areas of Rest Day Working and resolving Sunday arrangements.”
