Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotherham, have made a joint statement on the performance of rail services in Northern England.
The Department for Transport is now considering options of bringing the Northern franchise under greater government control or terminating Arriva’s franchise and running the network through its own holding company.
Cancellations, industrial action and delays to line and rolling stock upgrades have plagued the performance of Northern since Arriva took over the rail franchise. In 2019 however, TransPennine Express services have seen worse performance, with frequent delays and cancellations.
The two mayors said:
All year we have been calling on the Government to get a grip of the chaos on the railways of the North and remove the franchise from Northern. Now, just days before Christmas, Government sources have finally responded by briefing a Sunday newspaper that they are belatedly going to take action. This is not good enough. Passengers and staff need clarity going into the New Year.
“We are today calling on the Government to end the damaging uncertainty by making a public statement confirming or denying this report and set out an urgent plan as to how they will bring back stability to our railways in 2020. For much of this year, TransPennine Express has been performing worse than Northern.
“A timetable needs to be set for improvements and, if they fail to deliver, TransPennine should be next. Passengers here are just days away from another big hike in fares but with no certainty that things are going to get any better any time soon. Before they buy new season tickets, the Government must let them know where they stand.”
Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, has also requested from both Northern and TransPennine Express explanations for their poor performance in recent years on rail services in the North East.