Government to take over running of Northern trains

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that, from Sunday 1 March, the government will take over running services on the Northern network.

The government says it recognises that the rail network in the North has fallen far short of delivering the service passengers need and deserve.

This comes after the Transport Secretary announced on 9 January that the Northern franchise was no longer financially sustainable and would only be able to continue for a small number of months.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/132261/northern-rail-franchise-can-only-continue-for-months-says-transport-secretary

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “This is a new beginning for Northern, but it is only a beginning.

“Northern's network is huge and complex and some of the things which are wrong are not going to be quick or easy to put right. But I am determined that Northern passengers see real and tangible improvements across the network as soon as possible.

“The railways were invented in the North. Last year the Prime Minister promised that we would give the railway back to the places it was born, giving more power over services, fares, and stations to local leaders.

“Today marks the first small step towards the North taking back control of its railways and its people taking back control of their travelling lives.

“There will be no more leaving behind. This government is committed to levelling-up.”

The Northern network is huge and complex – serving over 108 million passenger journeys a year on 2,800 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.

The government has also pledged to introduce a introduce a number of electric trains on the network, lengthen 30 platforms by the spring, clean all existing trains and improve reliability of Sunday services.

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.

This decision will not affect jobs or introduce changes to fares or tickets for passengers.

Chris Burchell, Arriva MD UK Trains, which operates Northern, said:“We had a clear vision for the Northern franchise that would better connect the cities of the North with more frequent, reliable and modern services and unlock economic growth. It was clear however that, largely because of external factors, the franchise plan had become undeliverable. A new plan is needed that will secure the future for Northern train services.  As such, we understand government’s decision today.

“I would like to recognise the hard work of the 6,000 strong team at Northern who have worked tirelessly over the last four years to deliver improvements to local rail services in the North, at times under extremely difficult conditions.

“The scale of the challenges we faced outside of our direct control were unprecedented, particularly around delayed or cancelled infrastructure projects and prolonged strike action.  Despite the challenges, the team has introduced brand new trains onto the network for the first time in a generation. They have introduced more than 2,000 extra services per week, refurbished trains and stations, and created hundreds of new customer-facing jobs as part of a £600 million investment programme for the North.

“We recognise however that overall service improvements have not come quickly enough, and passengers deserve better. For that, we wholeheartedly apologise. We now stand ready to support government and the Operator of Last Resort to ensure a smooth transfer for our passengers and colleagues alike.

“I am confident that as a result of the determination and hard work of the Northern rail team, they have helped set strong foundations for future improvement on the network.”