Northern Rail Faces Passenger Outcry Over Service Quality

Northern Rail has committed to enhancing its service quality following strong criticism from customers regarding its “rubbish” performance. The railway operator, nationalised in 2020, reported over 1,000 train cancellations during the recent half-term period. A senior executive expressed the company’s regret for its recent operational results, acknowledging they have “not been good enough”. Transport Secretary Louise Haigh stated that the improvement strategy put forward by the company is expected to “reduce cancellations and improve reliability for passengers”. Northern Rail has been engaged in efforts to rectify its substandard service for several years. The company operates routes throughout northern England and extending into the Midlands, serving locations such as Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, and Nottingham. Passenger Clare Harland described her encounters with Northern’s service as “absolutely rubbish”. She noted that trains are “either rammed, [or] they’re cancelled.” She further explained, “You try to leave [work] early, to get an earlier one, or you wait until you get one after about half past six, which you don’t want to do, obviously.” Another commuter characterized Northern’s service as “absolutely diabolical”. He elaborated, “I catch this train every single day,” adding, “It either doesn’t turn up on time, or doesn’t turn up full stop,” and concluding, “We’ve got dirty old rolling stock. It’s a sham, it really is.” Passenger Lisa Greenhalgh recounted arriving at the station 20 minutes ahead of time, only to then wait an hour and forty minutes for a train “on a number of occasions in the freezing cold, and you’ve had no update, so you don’t know what’s happening, and by then it’s too late to drive into Manchester, so you end up spending two hours out of the house and actually getting nowhere.” Certain businesses also voiced grievances regarding Northern’s services. Norman Wallis, who owns Southport Pleasureland, stated: “We are a tourism destination, and basically, Northern [is] killing us.” He continued: “Not just our business, but the hotels, the retailers, the restaurants. Everything in the town is being killed off, because we haven’t got the lifeblood, which is the people – they haven’t got an easy way to get into Southport.” He added: “It’s extremely difficult, we can’t get the people in.” The company was placed under governmental oversight in 2020, yet persistent issues continued to plague the network. In July, the Department for Transport issued Northern Rail a “breach notice” due to an excessive number of train cancellations, mandating the development of a resolution plan. The company has identified train crew availability as a primary challenge, citing elevated sickness rates and the fact that Sundays fall outside standard contracted working hours. From 13 October to 9 November of this year, less than 50% of its services operated punctually. Matt Rice, Northern’s chief operating officer, stated that the company was “sorry for our recent performance, accept it has not been good enough and understand the impact this has on our customers”. He further mentioned that Northern Rail was “working hard to address issues with traincrew availability so we can improve reliability for our customers”, which encompasses reaching a new rest-day working agreement for train drivers. Additionally, he noted that a new offer has been extended to conductors for Sunday work, and the RMT union’s leadership will review this proposal before presenting it to its members for a ballot. Rice concluded, “We realise there is more to be done to address issues with performance and are now focused on delivering our improvement plan.” According to its most recent improvement plan, Northern aims for 90% of its trains to be punctual by 2027, alongside a cancellation rate of just 2%. The company indicated its intention to enhance service by implementing Sunday and rest day working agreements and introducing a “sickness action plan”. Northern reported that it continues to contend with difficulties stemming from a 2018 timetable alteration, which still impacts timetable creation and presents “challenges facing colleagues”. The operator seeks to simplify its timetable and ensure its “aging” train fleet receives targeted maintenance. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, reported “chaos throughout the day” at Manchester stations. He remarked: “We’re in the busiest time of the year in Manchester. We say we want growth, but we’ve got a rail service that’s actively working against us getting that growth and bringing people into the city.” Burnham further asserted: “It needs to be sorted out now.” Transport Secretary Louise Haigh commented that the North has been “let down for too long by poor rail services [and] unacceptable levels of cancellations and delays”, asserting that these issues were “holding its economy and its ambition back”. She stated that the company’s proposed improvement plan is expected to “generate higher revenues for the taxpayer and boost the entire region’s economy”. Haigh also mentioned that the government was “modernising working practices”. The RMT union plans to conduct a ballot among its members regarding conductors volunteering for Sunday shifts and the implementation of a passenger assistance application to aid customers. Under this arrangement, the government indicated that the company is projected to generate greater additional revenues than it will expend on supplementary staffing.