Northern’s Service Improvement Plan Faces Criticism Over Multi-Year Timeline

Regional politicians have characterized a service improvement plan, submitted by the embattled rail operator Northern, as “vague” and “still not good enough.” Northern, responsible for train operations across the north of England, stated its goal is to achieve 90% punctuality for trains and limit service cancellations to 2% within the upcoming three-year period. During a Transport for the North meeting, Northern executives expressed intentions to enhance driver and conductor availability by negotiating new working arrangements with staff. However, regional figures, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, criticized the plan for its absence of “interim milestones we need to hold you to account.” A component of Northern’s strategy involves increasing staff presence on Sundays, a day frequently associated with service disruptions due to its exclusion from standard contracted working hours. The company has presented conductors with a new agreement for Sunday work, which the RMT union indicated it would discuss with its members. Tricia Williams, Northern’s managing director, informed the Transport for the North rail committee that this arrangement was an “interim” step, intended to last four months if accepted, while a more comprehensive, long-term agreement addressing broader concerns is developed. Additionally, Northern’s proposal mentioned initiatives such as decreasing crew sickness, addressing a backlog in training, and enhancing maintenance for its ‘ageing fleet’. Nevertheless, the projected timeline for reducing cancellations and improving punctuality was 36 months, a duration Mr. Burnham highlighted as “three years away.” He commented, “It’s the most honest update we have had, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear.” Northern had previously received a directive to promptly formulate an improvement strategy following an emergency meeting in October concerning its subpar performance. Passengers conveyed to the BBC that the service was “rubbish” after over 1,000 trains were cancelled during the recent half-term period. The Transport for North committee, comprising the mayors of South Yorkshire and the Liverpool city region, also questioned the company regarding its non-transferable tickets. City of York councillor Peter Kilbane labeled it an “absolute nonsense that you have to buy a ticket and be wary of what train you get on.” He informed the committee, “We’re thinking of putting courses on in York about how to buy the right train ticket.” Mr. Burnham, who presided over the meeting, urged Northern to collaborate more extensively with other operators to enhance transferable ticket options. He stated, “If your Northern train is cancelled you should be able to get on an other.” Company representatives committed to investigating the issue and to presenting detailed milestones for their proposed improvement plan.