The Mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham have responded to a report in a Sunday paper over the Government’s plans to renationalise Northern Rail.

According to the Sunday Times,  Northern would be stripped of its franchise and an “operator of the last resort” brought in to run the railway under direct government control.

The two Mayors who have been calling for action on the region’s rail network said:

“All year we have been calling on the government to get a grip of the chaos on the railways of the north and remove the franchise from Northern. Now, just days before Christmas, government sources have finally responded by briefing a Sunday newspaper that they are belatedly going to take action. This is not good enough.”

The Mayors added

“For much of this year, TransPennine Express has been performing worse than Northern. A timetable needs to be set for improvements and, if they fail to deliver, TransPennine should be next.”

“Passengers here are just days away from another big hike in fares but with no certainty that things are going to get any better any time soon. Before they buy new season tickets, the government must let them know where they stand.”

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