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| Northern and Transpennine rail delays as new timetable begins | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Rail commuters in the north of England have been hit by cancellations and delays as new winter timetables were launched. | Rail commuters in the north of England have been hit by cancellations and delays as new winter timetables were launched. |
| Northern had cancelled 19 trains by 10:00 GMT and 31 were delayed, which it said was down to "operational issues" rather than the timetable change. | Northern had cancelled 19 trains by 10:00 GMT and 31 were delayed, which it said was down to "operational issues" rather than the timetable change. |
| Transpennine Express also cancelled 29 services on Monday morning. | Transpennine Express also cancelled 29 services on Monday morning. |
| The issues largely affected commuters in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. | The issues largely affected commuters in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. |
| The Transpennine Express services hit included those linking Manchester Airport with Edinburgh and Newcastle, and trains from Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough. | The Transpennine Express services hit included those linking Manchester Airport with Edinburgh and Newcastle, and trains from Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough. |
| On twitter, its customer service account @TPEassist wrote: "We're sorry if your service is affected today. The timetable changed yesterday and there are some challenges across the network." | |
| Northern services which were affected were between Blackpool North and Manchester Airport, from Leeds to York and Sheffield, and Darlington to Saltburn. | Northern services which were affected were between Blackpool North and Manchester Airport, from Leeds to York and Sheffield, and Darlington to Saltburn. |
| A spokesperson for the rail firm said: "Very few of our services have seen any changes as a result of the timetable coming in. | |
| "The small number of delays and cancellations are due to operational issues including driver sickness, signalling failure and train faults." | "The small number of delays and cancellations are due to operational issues including driver sickness, signalling failure and train faults." |
| 'Clear signal' | |
| Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said rail issues had "gone on far too long" and called for Northern to be stripped of its franchise. | Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said rail issues had "gone on far too long" and called for Northern to be stripped of its franchise. |
| "If the government is serious about supporting the north, then it needs to show it by acting this week to sort out our failing rail services," he said. | "If the government is serious about supporting the north, then it needs to show it by acting this week to sort out our failing rail services," he said. |
| "As a first step, it should strip Northern of its franchise. That would send a clear signal to all rail operators - notably Transpennine Express - that we will not accept a second-class rail service for people in the North. | "As a first step, it should strip Northern of its franchise. That would send a clear signal to all rail operators - notably Transpennine Express - that we will not accept a second-class rail service for people in the North. |
| "If Transpennine Express fail to respond to that message, they should be next." | "If Transpennine Express fail to respond to that message, they should be next." |
| The National Rail timetable is changed in May and December each year. | The National Rail timetable is changed in May and December each year. |
| In the west of England, passengers using Great Western Railway (GWR) services were also hit with cancellations and delays between Reading and London Paddington, due to a fault with the signalling system at Maidenhead. | In the west of England, passengers using Great Western Railway (GWR) services were also hit with cancellations and delays between Reading and London Paddington, due to a fault with the signalling system at Maidenhead. |
| A new, super-fast GWR service from Bristol to London, due to leave at 08:53 GMT, was among the cancellations. | A new, super-fast GWR service from Bristol to London, due to leave at 08:53 GMT, was among the cancellations. |
| Northern had said the new timetable would see 50 new trains being introduced across its services. | Northern had said the new timetable would see 50 new trains being introduced across its services. |
| In October, fewer than half of Northern rail services ran on time, the firm's figures showed. | In October, fewer than half of Northern rail services ran on time, the firm's figures showed. |
| Cancellations were also at their highest level since July and August. | Cancellations were also at their highest level since July and August. |
| The operator had said the changes in its new winter timetable would focus on "reliability and stability" and add to the services each week. | The operator had said the changes in its new winter timetable would focus on "reliability and stability" and add to the services each week. |
| Commuters shared train travel issues on social media on Monday, as the hastag #northernfail was trending. | Commuters shared train travel issues on social media on Monday, as the hastag #northernfail was trending. |
| Keri Lewis Brown shared an image of a departures board which read a service to Blackpool North had been cancelled "due to a train stopping in the wrong position". | Keri Lewis Brown shared an image of a departures board which read a service to Blackpool North had been cancelled "due to a train stopping in the wrong position". |
| Ben Simmonds wrote on Facebook: "So Northern have gone ahead and cancelled the 7:53 from Sowerby Bridge to York in the new timetable (despite promising not to) which means the 7:58 to Leeds will now have triple the normal passenger count. Why in God's name would you cancel a peak commuter train?!?!" | Ben Simmonds wrote on Facebook: "So Northern have gone ahead and cancelled the 7:53 from Sowerby Bridge to York in the new timetable (despite promising not to) which means the 7:58 to Leeds will now have triple the normal passenger count. Why in God's name would you cancel a peak commuter train?!?!" |
| Transpennine is running a pre-planned temporary reduced timetable on some routes as a maintenance backlog and infrastructure problems have delayed staff training on new trains. | Transpennine is running a pre-planned temporary reduced timetable on some routes as a maintenance backlog and infrastructure problems have delayed staff training on new trains. |
| Sophie Lichfield tweeted that commuting between Liverpool and Manchester was "near impossible" due to the cancellations and delays. | Sophie Lichfield tweeted that commuting between Liverpool and Manchester was "near impossible" due to the cancellations and delays. |
| While another, Pippa Jackson, tweeted: "8.17 to Dewsbury cancelled. Having to wait nearly an hour for the next one. No lunch for me today then. Or I don't get home till 7pm. And I see my kids for an hour before they go to bed. Truly shambolic service @TPExpressTrains." | While another, Pippa Jackson, tweeted: "8.17 to Dewsbury cancelled. Having to wait nearly an hour for the next one. No lunch for me today then. Or I don't get home till 7pm. And I see my kids for an hour before they go to bed. Truly shambolic service @TPExpressTrains." |
| One passenger, posting on Twitter with the username leylandski, wrote: "Every day you get worse. Now you've cancelled both my train to and from work until Jan? Why? They were during peak time, this is totally unacceptable." | One passenger, posting on Twitter with the username leylandski, wrote: "Every day you get worse. Now you've cancelled both my train to and from work until Jan? Why? They were during peak time, this is totally unacceptable." |
| Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: "Passengers don't care what causes the disruption - they just want things running again as soon as possible, and plenty of visible staff on hand to help them in the meantime. | Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: "Passengers don't care what causes the disruption - they just want things running again as soon as possible, and plenty of visible staff on hand to help them in the meantime. |
| "Train operators should ensure every eligible passenger knows how to claim compensation so that they get the money they are entitled to." | "Train operators should ensure every eligible passenger knows how to claim compensation so that they get the money they are entitled to." |
| Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. | Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. |