By Northern Mayors meet Transport Secretary over rail chaos
Northern Mayors are set demand action from the transport secretary after months of rail “chaos” has affected thousands of travellers.
Rail travel in the North has been severely disrupted in recent months with passengers facing reduced timetables, crowded services, industrial action, last-minute cancellations and delays.
Mayors from West and South Yorkshire, Manchester, Liverpool and North of Tyne said the disruption effects the northern economy, with West Yorkshire’s mayor Tracy Brabin stating: “Enough is enough.”
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Ms Brabin said: “The transport secretary has promised to get a grip on this crisis and we welcome that.
“But the people of the North need more than warm words. We need a concrete plan that will get our rail network back on track.”
Ms Brabin said as well as having a “devastating impact” on the North’s economy, the rail disruption affected “attempts to rebuild from the pandemic” while communities were also dealing with the cost of living crisis.
Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express have come under particular scrutiny after TPE cancelled over 50 trains in one day last month.
Avanti has apologised for the disruption, adding: “We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect.”
Business leaders in the north of England warned earlier this week that rail services could “collapse into utter chaos” by January unless the government took action.
The Northern Powerhouse Partnership said cancellations had already cut off the Humber region for “days at a time” and had reduced access to Manchester Airport, forcing people into their cars instead.
Wednesday’s meeting will also be attended by the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotherham, the mayor of the North of Tyne Jamie Driscoll, and the mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard.
Speaking on Newsnight on Monday, Mr Burnham said passengers were “going through hell”, adding: “We’ve been in a tunnel for a long time when it comes to railways and we are desperately seeking some light.
“There needs to be an acknowledgement here that it’s the government that can fix this.”
The mayors said they would call on Transport Secretary Mark Harper to do whatever he could to encourage the train companies and trade unions to reach an agreement on rest day working.
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