2 weeks Ago
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham along with other mayors in the North of England have written to the chancellor and secretary of state for transport in a bid to get rail services back on track. Mr Burnham called an emergency meeting of the Rail North Committee, which he chairs, following what the committee described as a spate of cancellations, overcrowding and 'Do Not Travel' warnings on Sunday, which have impacted services in Bolton . It is feared that 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 question 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 per cent of services - with a lack of mitigations in place such as ticket acceptance with other operators.
READ MORE: MP brings Northern rail ‘scandal’ to Parliament after Bolton woman fined Northern tells passengers to 'avoid trains' for fifth time Weekend travel, particularly on Sundays, is worst hit, with Greater Manchester now regularly seeing between 30 per cent and 40 per cent 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 committee 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. Mr 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.” Leaders want to work with the new Government and Northern to address the issues at hand, particularly around ensuring adequate staff coverage to ensure a seven-days-a- week service. A Northern spokesperson said: “We are sorry for our recent performance and accept it has not been good enough and understand the impact this has on our customers.
Cancellations are always a last resort and only applied when we have no other option. “Train crew availability remains an issue in the North West, especially on Sundays which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours. “We are keen to re-introduce rest-day working for our train drivers and agree a way forward on staffing Sundays with our conductors, by working closely with them and their union representatives.
” Greater Manchester is also planning to bring eight commuter train lines into the Bee Network by 2028, giving the city-region a greater devolved role over services and creating better integration with its bus and tram services, as well as its active travel network..
