Northern rail disaster condemned by MP and Transport for the North

Tony Lloyd MP

The latest travel disruptions across Rochdale and Greater Manchester were condemned by local MP Tony Lloyd and Transport for the North bosses.

Mr Lloyd MP said: “The Northern Rail fiasco has been handled badly not simply by that company but by Network Rail and the Department for Transport, and that means there is clear ministerial responsibility.

“It is unbelievable that no modelling took place in order to prevent the kind of disaster that we’ve seen. Many of us are left with the suspicion that it’s cheaper to provide a poor service and save wage costs whilst paying some levels of compensation than to run the contractually agreed franchise services.

“Government ministers now have a very short time to put things in order. There was a very powerful grilling of the Secretary of State for Transport in the Commons yesterday. Sadly, he was less than convincing. The travelling public, where appropriate, should receive compensation for the very real inconvenience that my constituents and others have suffered.

“Ultimately, we do need to see the investment in rail that London and the South East takes for granted here in the North.”

John Cridland, Chairman of Transport for the North, said: “We stand firmly with passengers across the North – they expect and deserve better.

 “The patience of residents, businesses and visitors in the North has been tested. They have been inconvenienced and disrupted and need a rail service that they can rely on.

 “As the voice of the Northern civic and business leaders, we call for Northern to:

• Ensure any services in total are at least as good as they were before the introduction of the new timetable on 20 May 2018
• Provide clear communication to customers so that they can plan with confidence
• Compensate passengers who have bought advance or season tickets for the next two months, given the reduced level of service
• Reduce the cost of journeys for customers experiencing disruption
• Arrange for their tickets to be accepted on other rail operators and modes of transport, to provide passengers with an alternative route
• Engage businesses and northern leaders on any future changes that may impact passengers

“We are deeply disappointed that – two weeks in from the timetable change – we are not yet seeing more improvement. We will scrutinise, challenge and track services over the coming days.

“We, as a group, commit to communities in the North to speak on their behalf and demand a service that is fit for purpose.”