Mayors' fury as Northern warns of reduced train timetable over Christmas

The Greater Manchester Mayor revealed that on Wednesday 155 Northern services were cancelled before 8.30am, and over half term almost one in 10 trains were axed.

At the meeting, Northern's chief operating officer, Matt Rice, said that the company was considering running a reduced timetable over Christmas, to try and stop these kinds of cancellations.

Mr Rice said nothing had been confirmed, but explained: “As it currently stands there will be some services we won’t be able to run more.”

He said that Northern may have to put on a “discrete list of services, more discrete lines of routes between core economies and core events and putting a high level of guarantee on the service”.

Managing director of Northern Tricia Williams said “the service is not where we want it to be” and blamed an agreement that conductors do not have to work on Sundays and high levels of staff sickness.

She added: “There has been significant under investment for a long time in Northern.”

It was also revealed at the meeting that Northern still uses fax machines to communicate with staff members.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin told the rail executives: “I am incredibly disappointed by what I’ve just heard.”

She explained that in the Calder Valley on 23 October no trains ran after 5pm.

“We’re looking at Christmas and the Piece Hall, which is one of West Yorkshire’s crowning glories for Christmas markets, and nobody can get there or get home after 5pm,” Ms Brabin said. 

“I’m not quite sure that it’s landing how important this is.

“Across the North our economy really hangs by a thread whether the transport is fit for purpose.”

Mr Burnham hit out at Northern for failing to come up with agreements for tickets to be used on other operators in the case of cancellations, and lack of rail replacement bus services.

As chair of the Rail North Committee, with the support of Ms Brabin, Oliver Coppard and David Skaith, Mr Burnham has now written to the Chancellor and Transport Secretary calling for support to tackle Northern’s “declining performance”.

He 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.”

He added: “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.”

Northern will present its plan to tackle the cancellations to the committee on 20 November.

The Office of Rail and Road recently found that 80 per cent of Northern train cancellations were caused by the operator, the most of any train company.