Passengers have been left outraged over the cancellation of many railway services, due to an absence of train drivers.
Northern Rail have come under fire recently for their excessive cancellations and poor quality of service, over the past few years. May 2018 saw an introduction to brand new timetables, which subsequently resulted in up to 310 trains cancelled per day. The company claims to employ 1,500 people, which is 150 more than required to operate the trains. However, due to new timetables, over 500 drivers had to learn to re-navigate their normal routes.
The railway company, set up in 2004, is now facing being stripped of its rail franchise. Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool City, have repeatedly called for this to happen. With transport secretary, Grant Shapps, questioning whether to renationalise the Northern Railway network.
“After months of misery it is a relief for us to hear government finally accept what we've been saying repeatedly, that things can’t carry on as they are."
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester
The managing director of Northern Railway, David Brown, has claimed that Northern were investing £600 million to transform the North's railways.
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