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Northern rail chaos is 'totally unacceptable', says Downing Street Northern and GTR operators could be barred from future rail franchises
(about 3 hours later)
The chaos facing rail passengers in northern England is totally unacceptable, Downing Street has said, as cancellations and delays continued on Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway despite services being reduced to minimise disruption. The operators of Govia Thameslink Railway and Northern rail could be banned from bidding for future franchises if they are found to be at fault for the chaos inflicted on passengers over the past two weeks, the transport secretary has said.
The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, was due to make a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, with the Department for Transport (DfT) unable to schedule enough ministerial meetings for all the MPs whose constituents have been affected by the fallout from a botched timetable. Chris Grayling also announced an inquiry into the timetable fiasco that has left passengers in northern and south-east England facing widespread cancellations and delays.
MPs have demanded to know why DfT did not defer the introduction of new timetables, which came into effect two weeks ago, when it had become clear that there was insufficient time to make them work. Labour called on Grayling to quit, saying it was “yet another complete failure on his part”. In the face of calls for him to resign, Grayling told the Commons he had been personally assured by GTR that it was ready to deliver the new timetable, “as little as three weeks before”.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said Theresa May had full confidence in her transport secretary, adding: “We have tremendous sympathy with everyone who has had their rail journey delayed or disrupted. What we have seen has been totally unacceptable.” He repeated criticism of Network Rail, for overrunning engineering work and delays in approving the new timetables. But he said it was now “clear that GTR and Northern were not sufficiently prepared to manage a timetable change of this scale”.
Northern rail began running an emergency timetable with the planned cancellation of 165 daily services on Monday. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) – which consists of Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express – is also running a temporary timetable enabling passengers to “arrange their journeys with greater confidence”. He blamed the Thameslink Readiness Board, an expert industry group set up to advise him, for not raising the apparent risks.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has called for substantial compensation for holders of advance and season tickets. He also demanded a general reduction in fares for all passengers on routes affected by the emergency timetable. Grayling said he had commissioned an independent inquiry under Prof Stephen Glaister, chair of the Office of Rail and Road, while his department would assess whether GTR and Arriva Rail North had met their contractual obligations.
In a letter to the chair of Transport for the North (TfN), John Cridland, Burnham said TfN should fine Northern if it refused to compensate passengers, saying that the rail company would benefit financially from the operation of the reduced timetable. He said there would be increased compensation paid to Northern passengers, the details of which would be announced by the rail industry.
Areas affected include Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool, while the entire Lakes line between Oxenholme and Windermere has been cancelled for at least two weeks, forcing passengers to use replacement bus services. The shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, said the episode was another example of the lack of responsibility in Britain’s rail industry, adding: “He [Grayling] is the man in charge, allegedly. He may want to blame Network Rail but it is him who oversees it, the buck stops with him.
On Monday morning, travellers complained they were not allowed on the buses because they were too full. Others said buses had failed to arrive. At 8.30am in Huncoat, east Lancashire, Kirsty Benfield was still waiting for her replacement bus to work in Blackburn, which should have arrived at 7.34am. “Absolute joke,” she said. “Arriva and GTR have had years to prepare for these changes … Neither has trained enough drivers, but the department has failed to hold them to account. Were the prime minister not so enfeebled, she would sack him. He should resign.”
Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland in Cumbria, called for Northern to be stripped of its franchise. He said the government should run it instead, as it has done with the east coast mainline. The chair of the transport committee, Lilian Greenwood, said Grayling’s department had signed off GTR’s unworkable timetable and demanded cuts in spending on planning, and he should take responsibility. Grayling said he had followed the advice of the industry readiness board.
Earlier, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Theresa May had full confidence in her transport secretary, adding: “We have tremendous sympathy with everyone who has had their rail journey delayed or disrupted. What we have seen has been totally unacceptable.”
The Department for Transport (DfT) was unable to schedule enough ministerial meetings for all the MPs whose constituents have been affected by the fallout from a botched timetable.
MPs have demanded to know why DfT did not defer the introduction of new timetables, which came into effect two weeks ago, when it had become clear that there was insufficient time to make them work.
Twenty MPs representing constituencies served by GTR were due to meet Grayling on Monday. In a letter outlining the disruption and hardship it was causing commuters, they asked for confirmation that DfT was aware of the reduced three-week period to change schedules instead of the expected 12. They wrote: “If so, could you clarify why [DfT] did not encourage GTR to delay implementing the new timetable?”
Cancellations and delays continued on Northern and GTR on Monday despite services being reduced to minimise disruption.
Northern rail began running an emergency timetable with the planned cancellation of 165 daily services on Monday. GTR - which consists of Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express – is also running a temporary timetable enabling passengers to “arrange their journeys with greater confidence”.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, called for substantial compensation and demanded a general reduction in fares for all passengers on routes affected by Northern’s emergency timetable.
Burnham said: “Northern have already left people seriously out of pocket and turned their lives upside down with their chaotic services. I have heard countless stories of people forking out for taxis, hire cars, hotels and extra childcare but unable to get compensation for it.
“Northern are set to benefit financially from this emergency timetable. It is the company, and not the passengers, who should pay the price for their mismanagement.
Areas affected by the emergency timetable include Manchester, Liverpool and Blackpool, while the entire Lakes line between Oxenholme and Windermere has been cancelled for at least two weeks, forcing passengers to use replacement bus services.
David Brown, Northern’s managing director, said the company was responding to “stakeholders” by shutting down the line into the Lake District.David Brown, Northern’s managing director, said the company was responding to “stakeholders” by shutting down the line into the Lake District.
He told BBC Radio Cumbria on Monday: “We know that the service on the Lakes line just doesn’t meet the needs of residents and businesses. They need certainty, particularly to support the tourist trade there. What we have been doing is providing a substandard service. So we believe that it’s in the best interest of all parties that we put in place an alternative that people can plan and use and understand it’s going to be there for a period of time.” He told BBC Radio Cumbria on Monday: “We know that the service on the Lakes line just doesn’t meet the needs of residents and businesses. We believe that it’s in the best interest of all parties that we put in place an alternative that people can plan and use and understand it’s going to be there for a period of time.”
Brown blamed overrunning engineering work electrifying the lines for the disruption, which meant the company had to rewrite their timetables at the 11th hour.Brown blamed overrunning engineering work electrifying the lines for the disruption, which meant the company had to rewrite their timetables at the 11th hour.
Burnham said: “Northern have already left people seriously out of pocket and turned their lives upside down with their chaotic services. I have heard countless stories of people forking out for taxis, hire cars, hotels and extra childcare but unable to get compensation for it.
“Now that Northern are unilaterally cancelling thousands of services – that many season ticket holders have already paid for – passengers must be properly and fully compensated. There must also be a general reduction in fares for all passengers on routes affected by these changes. Northern are set to benefit financially from this emergency timetable. It is the company, and not the passengers, who should pay the price for their mismanagement.
“As far as I am concerned, this emergency timetable represents the last chance saloon for Northern. If they are not providing the promised new May timetable by early August, then steps should be taken to strip the franchise from them.”
Nigel Wilkinson, the managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, called on Northern and Network Rail to fund a marketing campaign to offset the damage done to the local economy.Nigel Wilkinson, the managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, called on Northern and Network Rail to fund a marketing campaign to offset the damage done to the local economy.
He told BBC Cumbria: “We are coming into the busiest four months of the year. There couldn’t be a worse time for this to happen.” He said: “We are coming into the busiest four months of the year. There couldn’t be a worse time for this to happen.”
The shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, said Grayling should have sought guarantees that the new timetable would work, or pause its introduction. “I’m aghast that Chris Grayling has been so far removed from this and seeks to blame all and sundry rather than accepting his responsibility,” McDonald said.
“He should accept that this is yet another complete failure on his part and in ordinary times any self-respecting secretary of state would resign today, I have no doubt about it.”
The Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who said the DfT was cancelling ministerial meetings over the rail problems, having underestimated demand, said: “Is there any understanding of the scale of this crisis in Whitehall?”
Twenty MPs representing constituencies served by GTR were due to meet Grayling on Monday. In a letter outlining the disruption and hardship it was causing commuters, they said they would seek to understand how the crisis had developed – and in particular confirming that the DfT was aware that there was only three weeks rather than the expected 12 to change the schedules.
They wrote: “If so, could you clarify why the Department did not encourage GTR to delay implementing the new timetable?”
Rail transportRail transport
TransportTransport
CumbriaCumbria
Andy BurnhamAndy Burnham
Transport policyTransport policy
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