Northern Rail to be stripped of franchise after years of let down

Grant Shapps MP spoke out yesterday morning stating that he had started the process to remove Northern from operating on railways across East Lancashire and the rest of the north.

The announcement follows years of chaos and cancellations across the network including the East Lancs Colne to Blackpool South line and Clitheroe to Manchester line.

On the same day, millions of commuters were bracing themselves at having to pay an average of 2.7% more for train tickets as the latest price rises were announced.
Asked if Northern will be stripped of its franchise, Mr Shapps replied: “The simple answer to the question is yes, it is going to be brought to an end.

“It’s partially a legal process but frustrated commuters will not have to wait long.”
May 2018 saw the whole of Northern’s network descend into chaos after a botched change to timetables.

This, argued Blackburn with Darwen Councillor Phil Riley, who also sits on the board for Transport for the North, was a large contributing factor in the company’s demise.

He said: “Following the mayhem in 2018, Northern were never fully able to recover. The services did improve, but there were further changes yet again in December 2019 which went very badly.

“There were several cancellations and delays over the Christmas period, which has caused us to further question their ability to carry out the franchise.”

However Northern has also commented, stating that changes to the franchise were confirmed back in October and the comments from Mr Shapps do not indicate anything more about the company’s situation than was already known last year.

A Department for Transport spokesman also said that the operator could still be awarded a short-term contract at the end of discussions - one of the outcomes of the process Mr Shapps ‘kicked off’.

The spokesman said: “As the Transport Secretary said, he has started a process which would either strip Northern of its franchise or issue a short-term contract to them.

“We are taking action to ensure passengers in the North get a better service and we will provide an update in due course.”

But Mr Shapps has emphasised that passengers will see changes soon, appearing to confirm again that the franchise will end for Northern.

Commuters in East Lancashire responded to the news with many saying the announcement has been ‘a long time coming.’

Janet Lawlor, who travels on the network from Blackburn into Manchester four times a week, said she had made huge changes to her morning routine over the two years to plan for any inconveniences she may face.

The 54-year-old said: “I’ve always commuted into work, but in my 30 years using the railways, things have never been as bad as they are now.

“People have lost jobs, people have missed important appointments – it is simply not good enough.

“We’ve been asking for change and finally it looks like it may be coming. I only hope this won’t be a long drawn-out process and that we may start seeing positive changes sooner rather than later.”

Retired Jim Collins, 74, echoed Mrs Lawlor’s sentiments.

He said: “I have a lot more time on my hands these days than others, but I see what is going on and sympathise with everyone having to deal with it.

“It’s not the end of the world for me if my train is delayed or cancelled, but it can cause big problems for people trying to get to work.”

Office of Rail and Road figures show just 55.6% of Northern trains arrived at stations within one minute of the timetable in the 12 months to December 7, compared with the average across Britain of 65.3%.

German firm Arriva holds the Northern franchise, which was due to run until March 2025.

Former Lancashire County Councillor and South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed the news, saying: “This looks like a really big breakthrough in our long running campaign to ‘Sack Northern’.

“Northern’s service has been completely inadequate with years of cancelled trains, shoddy services and pathetic excuses.”