Rail company Northern is to be brought under government control, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
Mr Shapps said passengers had “lost trust in the north’s rail network”.
“People across the north deserve better, their communities deserve better and I am determined to achieve that,” he added.
The firm’s franchise will be stripped from operator Arriva Rail North from 1st March.
The decision follows the transport secretary’s announcement at the start of January that the beleaguered train operator would be stripped of its franchise following “unacceptable” performance.
The Government is promising to introduce a number of electric trains from elsewhere on the network, boosting capacity for commuters into Manchester and Leeds.
It will lengthen platforms at 30 stations by the spring, in addition to the 30 already completed, to allow longer trains to run.
All existing trains will be deep-cleaned and the approach to cleaning reviewed to ensure passengers experience the service they deserve from the first train to the last and has promised to build on the recent agreement with ASLEF and improve the reliability of Sunday services.
The Government also recognises the scale of the challenge ahead. The Northern network is huge and complex – serving over 108 million passenger journeys a year on 2800 daily services, calling at 528 stations.
To ensure a new vision for the railway is put in place the Transport Secretary has asked Robin Gisby and Richard George, who lead the public-sector operator, to prepare a plan in their first 100 days.
This will be a top to bottom review of everything from operational management, to rostering patterns and, most critically, customer experience, to make sure we leave no stone unturned in improving this franchise for passengers.
It will also include setting up a cross-industry Task Force to deliver recommendations for improving capacity and performance.
Many of Northern’s problems are infrastructure-related. The Transport Secretary has instructed the leadership of the public-sector operator to sit down with Network Rail and build a comprehensive new masterplan to review congestion around Manchester.
Continuing to assess the Castlefield Corridor, as well as key junctions and interactions across the wider network to develop a series of interventions which will actually deliver the improvements required. Further interventions around Leeds will also be considered.
The Government is also reiterating that today’s decision in no way reflects on the staff of Northern. They are dedicated, hard-working and committed to their customers. The Government wants to provide reassurance that this decision will not affect jobs or introduce changes to fares or tickets for passengers.
Chris Fletcher, Policy, Campaigns and Communications Director at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “The news that the Northern franchise has been taken back under government control probably comes as no surprise to anyone that has struggled with their services over the last few years. The news will be welcomed by many, however it may take some time before any tangible improvements are seen. Whilst Northern could have and should have done a whole lot better there is little doubt that the poor state of the existing infrastructure played a huge part in the poor levels of service and delays.
“If government is serious about its ambitions for the north it must also commit to the infrastructure investment around the Piccadilly and Oxford Road pinchpoint – the Castlefield Corridor – plans for which have been sat on a desk in DfT for 5 years awaiting approval. This stretch of track creates chaos with timetables and services and it needs sorting. The PM must also now commit in full to HS2 and NPR.
“Locally and nationally rail offers huge solutions to unlocking economic growth and benefits, but government has to commit to it followed up by action to get it done.”
