The Yorkshire Post says: Rail chaos in North '“ why the buck stops with Chris Grayling

As journeys continue to be disrupted, and lives ruined, as a direct result of last week’s inept timetable changes, the Prime Minister must intervene and tell Mr Grayling that the buck stops with him.

After all, the Minister’s proposition that the railway “industry has failed the passengers it serves” is very disingenuous when he refuses to accept any blame.

First, he says “a combination of delayed Network Rail infrastructure works and reduced planning time” meant the new timetable was introduced with haste. Why did the Transport Secretary not intervene on behalf of passengers?

Next, he concedes that staff schedules could not be altered at short notice and that “the current industrial action has also exacerbated the situation”. Again, what was the Transport Secretary doing?

Finally, he calls on Transport for the North, Network Rail and Northern Rail to “put whatever resource they need into resolving the situation”. Doesn’t Mr Grayling realise that he controls the purse strings?

Mr Grayling is further condemned by his own words when he says “the scale of the problem has far outstripped any expectation”. It goes without saying that the management of the railways is incredibly convoluted – all the more reason why the Transport Secretary should be a politician of national repute who can lead by example and persuade myriad organisations to co-ordinate their work.

Given this, The Yorkshire Post renews its call for Mr Grayling to be sacked – and asks Theresa May how bad train services have to become before she halts the daily injustice being endured by passengers here? Not only has the Transport Secretary repeatedly betrayed the North, showed contempt for Parliamentary scrutiny and lost the trust of the country, but he’s become so distracted by a succession of policy scandals that he didn’t even think to ask if there were sufficient staff and trains to meet the new timetable’s schedule.