Northern becomes region’s third rail company to cut timetables

Rail operator Northern has become the third rail company serving the North of England to cut timetables, following Avanti West Coast and TransPennine.

The rail operator, which was brought under state control in early 2020, has struggled to operate a full schedule of trains due to ongoing problems with staff sickness and driver rostering, as well as pay disputes with the Aslef and RMT unions. A new reduced timetable will be brought in across the franchise to reduce the number of trains cancelled at short notice until service levels can be restored.

Northern’s regional director Chris Jackson explained the timetable cuts to the Sunday Times, which broke the story:

“This is due to a number of factors including higher levels of staff sickness and, of course, the ongoing and high- profile industrial relations issues with the trade unions, which have their own impact on our ability to operate a full timetable.”

The move to reduce services by Northern follows on the decision by TransPennine Express to reduce the frequency of train running on the West Coast Mainline between Scotland and Manchester/Liverpool, although services through Stockport will be unaffected. The rail operator also cited sustained sickness and a training backlog being worked though following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Avanti West Coast cut its services on all routes out of London Euston to Scotland, the North-west and the Midlands in August, and is running just a single hourly train each way between Manchester and Stockport and the capital, in a move that has attracted the ire of the region’s politicians and local business community. While the rail operator announced it would provide additional trains to meet expected demand due to the State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, a strategy or target to end the reduced timetables has not been published.

Further rail disruption is anticipated in the coming weeks as a rail strike, postponed following the Queen’s death, with further industrial action scheduled for 1st and 5th October affecting all rail operators through Stockport, except Transport for Wales services.