Theresa May tells Cabinet the Government must 'get to grips' with 'misery' on Northern railways

The Prime Minister spoke after under-fire Transport Secretary Chris Grayling updated senior Ministers on delays and cancellations still being faced by passengers across the North following the botched introduction of new timetables on May 20.

Mr Grayling has already announced an inquiry into the failings and a special compensation scheme, as well as singling out Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which is also facing chaos in the South, for criticism.

Mrs May told Cabinet on Tuesday morning that the disruption is letting people down and must never happen again, although she sidestepped calls to hold an emergency summit with northern political and business leaders.

It came after some 25 newspapers in the North, including The Yorkshire Post, called on the PM to "get a grip" of the crisis.

The Yorkshire Post says: Enough is enough. Region’s newspapers unite to urge Theresa May to halt North’s rail shambles

Giving an update on the Cabinet meeting, Mrs May's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister said it is important we get to grips with this issue quickly, the current passengers disruption is letting people down and is absolutely unacceptable.

"She said the inquiry announced by the Transport Secretary yesterday must find out what went wrong and ensure the misery currently being endured by the public never happens again.

"Fixing this is an absolute priority and as the Transport Secretary set out in the House yesterday, people must be properly compensated.

"The Prime Minister added that the new timetable will deliver hundreds more services up and down the country when properly implemented but in the meantime we need to urgently minimise the disruption being caused."

Mr Grayling has mainly blamed Network Rail 's failure to complete engineering works on time for the chaos faced by Northern rail passengers over the last two weeks.

But questions have been raised about Mr Grayling's oversight of the state-funded infrastructure operator, given that the timetable changes went ahead despite works, such as electrification between Bolton and Preston, not being completed.

Former Chancellor George Osborne has joined calls for Transport for the North (TfN), the first subnational transport body, to be given full power over the region's railways, including oversight of Network Rail.

Mr Osborne said "decisions about the North should be taken in the North".

Ex-Chancellor George Osborne calls for the North to be given full power over railways

But Mrs May's spokesman insisted TfN has the power to request additional functions "at any time" with the consent of its membership of northern political and business leaders.

"It's important to note that TfN's current powers reflect exactly what Transport for the North requested," the spokesman said.

Asked if the entire privatised railway franchise system was broken, the spokesman said: "I think in relation to this clearly the issue is to learn the lessons of what went wrong and ensure that they never happen again, and that's what we're going to do."

The spokesman also sidestepped calls for an emergency summit led by the PM, pointing to the inquiry announced by Mr Grayling on Monday.

But the Transport Secretary faced criticism a fellow Tory MP and former Transport Minister.

Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill said: "The Yorkshire Post is absolutely right to speak out on behalf of passengers who have faced unacceptable delays and inconvenience following the botched introduction of the new timetable. Chris Grayling had to eat humble pie in the Commons on Monday. Along with Network Rail and the train operating companies, the Government needs to fix the problem as soon as possible."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "The Government must take urgent action to fix the travel chaos unleashed on the north of England by Chris Grayling's failures.

"Northern communities already only get a fraction of the transport investment that the south east receives. The Tories should be working day and night to put this scandal right.

"Their failure to do so shows their disregard for people in the towns and cities in the north.

"If the Transport Secretary won't stop trying to pass to buck, Theresa May must personally intervene to sort out this mess and end the disruption to people's lives."

Live: Northern rail chaos revealed as we go out on the trains to force change

Meanwhile, TfN boss John Cridland said the body's board stands "firmly with passengers" who "expect and deserve better".

He called on Northern rail to ensure services are at least as good as they were before the new timetable was introduced, provide "clear communication" to customers, compensate tickets who have bought advance or season tickets, cut the cost of fares for disrupted journeys, arrange for tickets to be accepted on other rail operators and modes of transport, and to engage businesses and northern leaders on future changes.

Mr Cridland said: “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.

“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.”