Andy Burnham calls for ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport as he slams Northern rail services

Andy Burnham has called for an ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport system as he slams Northern’s rail services for being ‘not good enough’.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has been vocal about his condemning views of rail travel across Greater Manchester and the North West over the past couple of years, notably calling for widespread reforms across the board, and particularly taking aim at Avanti’s running of the West Coast Main Line – especially as regular delays and cancellations have become commonplace for many.

But now, Mr Burnham, along with a handful of other Mayors across the North, have written to the Government to highlight poor performance by Northern.

This comes after Mr Burnham called an emergency meeting of the Rail North Committee last Wednesday, which saw regional mayors and leaders seek “immediate assurances” from Northern after a spate of cancellations, overcrowding of services, and ‘Do Not Travel’ warnings on Sundays.

Greater Manchester now regularly sees between 30% and 40% of its services cancelled on Sundays, and in many cases, no replacement bus services or alternative travel methods have been provided.

The Committee members said they fear that, without intervention, the situation could get worse, and ultimately affect confidence amongst shoppers and travellers as we head into the busiest time of year.

“The situation must be reversed in the interest of passengers and the region’s businesses, especially those in the retail and hospital sectors,” the Committee concluded.

Some of the topics discussed in the Committee meeting were the fact that, within the past week alone, with it being half term for many in the region, a total of 1,600 trains were cancelled across the network, and there was a lack of mitigations in place, such as ticket acceptance with other operators, when this happened.

Infrastructure challenges, high staff sickness levels, and Northern’s reliance on staff working on rest days was also discussed.

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Last night, there were widespread cancellations of @northernassist services causing chaos at stations.

It can’t go on.

Following a special Rail North Committee, I have written to the Chancellor to ask that a pending agreement on rest day working is approved as soon as possible.

— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) October 31, 2024

“Efficient and reliable public transport is a critical enabler of economic growth,” Mr Burnham said.

“What we heard from Northern at the meeting of the Rail North Committee was not good enough for residents and businesses across the north. That is why, on behalf of the Rail North Committee, I have written to the Chancellor and the Secretary of State to urge them to support us to bring the service back to an acceptable level.”

Read more:

• Northern confesses it still uses fax machines to contact train crews
• Passengers urged not to fire verbal or physical ‘abuse’ at conductors on Northern trains
• Avanti West Coast revealed as Britain’s most ‘unreliable’ train operator

Mr Burnham concluded that “significant modernisation” is needed by Northern if they are to match the Committee’s ambitions for growth.

Featured Image – Northern