Northern is pleading with passengers not to fire verbal or physical “abuse” at conductors on its trains.
As we head into the busy summer travel season, the train operator has highlighted a number of incidents that its crew members have faced in recent years while they’ve been on duty and working to “ensure everyone reaches their destination safely”.
Now, it’s cracking down and asking the public to treat everyone working on the railway with “respect”.
Northern has admitted that while the “overwhelming majority” of people who travel on its trains are polite and respectful, this unfortunately cannot be said for everyone, as there’s sadly been a “very small minority” that has resorted to shouting, spitting, and attacking members of staff over the last couple of years.
The company said it “will not tolerate” verbal and physical abuse towards staff, and is insisting it will be quick to “take action” against anyone who threatens its employees’ safety.
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“We welcome millions of customers on board our trains every year and the overwhelming majority are polite, considerate, and respectful of others,” Northern said in a statement as it pleaded with passengers to show respect to train crew.
“Unfortunately, given the numbers involved, our conductors do also encounter people who are somewhat less respectful of them and the safety critical role they have onboard.
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“And that is unacceptable.”
The train operator said it “will not tolerate” hostile treatment of its staff / Credit: Northern
Back in December of last year, Northern revealed that the number of dangerous attacks on its trains was down almost 90% in the previous 12 months, with the number of recorded incidents falling from 69 to just eight.
The train operator has also said that the chance of perpetrators being caught on camera is now “much higher” than it was before too, and this comes after it added a further 600 new CCTV cameras to the more than 1,000 that monitor all its stations, and also installed 7,000 HD CCTV cameras on board the trains themselves.
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An additional £1.7 million has also been invested into adding more than 1,000 extra body-worn camera kits to its train crew.
Dozens of undercover and plain-clothed police officers, as well as Northern’s own travel safety officers, also regularly patrol services across the network.
British Transport Police has access to all footage and can use it in criminal prosecutions.
Featured Image – Northern
News
Manchester named one of the UK’s most congested cities with the ‘worst traffic’
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has got itself a new title… but this isn’t one worth shouting about.
But it’s swings and roundabouts, as with all those impressive titles comes a less-than-impressive one, as the city has also been named one of the top 10 most congested cities with the worst traffic in the UK.
According to a new study conducted by the RAC, using data from INRIX, it was found that Manchester ranked number four on the list, as motorists lost a total of 61 hours stuck in traffic over the course of 2024 – which was estimated to cost them around £570 extra.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most congested cities / Credit: Manchester City Council (via Facebook)
Manchester wasn’t the only northern city on the list either, as Leeds and Sheffield also feature in the top 10, alongside the surprising addition of the lively Greater Manchester town of Wigan.
Yes, that’s right – it may not technically be a city, but for some reason, Wigan has also found itself featured on the list of UK’s most congested cities, as the study found that motorists there wasted an average of 57 hours stuck in traffic in 2024, and sadly had to part with an extra £532 because of it.
The UK’s most congested cities
London
Bristol
Leeds
Manchester
Bath
Birmingham
Wigan
Chelmsford
Sheffield
When it comes to the top spot on the list, that of course goes to London.
London’s drivers lost 101 hours sitting in congestion in 2024, which was a 2% increase in delays from the previous 12 months, and this means that the capital also accounts for approximately 50% of all UK traffic delay.
Looking nationally as a whole, the data also revealed that the country lost approximately £7.7 billion in 2024, which is £200 million more than in 2023.
The average UK driver lost around 62 hours due to traffic congestion last year, according to the study, which is up only one hour from the previous 12-month period, and this works out to £581 per driver per year.
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best’ in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best police forces in the country’.
Residents across Greater Manchester are being urged to have their say on proposals to increase the police precept that forms part of their council tax bill.
In case you weren’t familiar, three quarters of police funding comes from a central Government grant, but the remaining quarter comes from Greater Manchester Combined Authority‘s (GMCA) police precept, all of which helps enable Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to build on a range of improvements delivered over the last few years.
Funding helps GMP to further improve the speed of answering 999 and 101 calls, reduce and prevent neighbourhood crimes and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), improve road and transport safety across Manchester city centre, and bring more sex offenders to justice, among many other things.
Have your say on how we fund GMP’s vital services.
Your input helps us retain neighbourhood policing and keep Greater Manchester safe.
Together, we can ensure we are delivering the commitments that matter most to you.
— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) January 7, 2025
According to GMCA, these are some of the things that people in the region said were “important to them” following “extensive engagement and consultation” with communities.
The proposed increase to the residents’ council tax bills would be £14 a year for a ‘Band D’ property (£1.17 a month), which equates to £10.89 per year (91 pence a month) for an average ‘Band B’ property – with the majority of properties in Greater Manchester falling within Bands A and B.
Addressing the potential increase, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We set out a number of commitments last year on what Greater Manchester Police would deliver with the precept, and they delivered on every one of them.
Council tax could be increased to help keep Greater Manchester Police ‘one of the best’ in the UK / Credit: gov.uk
GMP are now answering 999 calls in record time, attending incidents sooner and investing in neighbourhood policing and crime prevention teams [and] as a result, we’ve seen crime reduce across the board, with the most marked improvement in neighbourhood crime which has reduced by 17% in the past year.”
He continued: “I know that times are tough for our residents, but investment through the precept is vital to maintain this improvement.