Transport secretary slams Northern, saying rail service is 'totally unacceptable'

The transport secretary has slammed under-fire train operator Northern - describing recent delays and cancellations as 'totally unacceptable'.

The operator has been criticised by regional leaders over its recent level of performance with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham writing to the government last week asking for support and action. It followed an emergency meeting of the Rail North Committee, chaired by Mr Burnham, in which the regional rail operator admitted fax machines are still being used to communicate with staff.

Visiting Greater Manchester today (November 7), the transport secretary told the Manchester Evening News 'progress' has been made with the unions over a rest day working agreement that expired over the summer. Mr Burnham said that has caused 'not all, but a lot' of the recent problems with the rail operator which has been 'regularly' issuing 'do not travel' notices for services on Sundays.

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Transport secretary Louise Haigh - an MP in Sheffield - said: "It's totally unacceptable. I've had Northern and Network Rail in to discuss this because the levels of cancellations and delays have not been acceptable across the North and I've made clear that the service that they're providing has to be addressed.

"This week, we made progress on settling the rest day working agreement with drivers and that should immediately start to reduce cancellations. But a lot more needs to be done.

"We're dealing with legacy issues of decades, frankly, and ridiculous terms and conditions that need to be addressed really quickly. We'll be working to do that. But the legacy of the last 14 years, and frankly, 30 years of privatisation, has left us with the nonsense that we're experiencing at the moment on Northern and that's at the heart of our reforms for long-term public ownership."

Mr Burnham, who joined the transport secretary and Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the visit to Stalybridge station, told the M.E.N. that the issues over Sunday services still need to be solved. It comes nearly five years after Northern was brought under public control.

He said: "Northern, when they became operator of last resort [taken under government control], definitely improved for quite a considerable amount of time from what we had under Arriva. So it was definitely better.

"What happened was a rest day working agreement expired in the summer and that has caused us, not all, but a lot of the recent problems. I think what that reflects is, we've not yet come to a long-term settled position on contracts on this side of the Pennines and no government could have sorted that out within five months in office.

"So I think what has to happen now - and I've met both sides in this, I've spoken to the unions, I've spoken to the government - what we need to come to is a new set of arrangements that support a seven-day railway in Greater Manchester and west of the Pennines and I think there is the opportunity to achieve that now."

The Labour mayor added: "I think public control did bring benefits. I look at TransPennine Express, they're much better now than when they were run by First. The data backs that up. TransPennine Express have got significantly better, I would say, in the last six months."

A Northern spokesperson said: "We are sorry for our recent performance, accept it has not been good enough and understand the impact this has on our customers. Cancellations are always a last resort and only applied when we have no other option. Train crew availability remains an issue in the North West, especially on Sundays which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours.

"We have secured a new rest-day working agreement for our train drivers and are keen to agree a way forward on Sundays with our conductors, by working closely with them and their union representatives."