DEBBIE Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth has welcomed the news that Northern Rail is to lose its franchise.

Ms Abrahams has been a long-term campaigner for improvements to local rail services as well as better accessibility at Oldham's only railway at Greenfield .

She said: “I’m pleased that the government has finally listened to my calls for Northern Rail to be stripped of its franchise.

“The Northern Rail contract has been a failure in every possible sense with delayed and cancelled trains, new services not being delivered and the dreaded Pacer trains still in operation.

"Local residents who use Greenfield station have been consistently let down not only by Northern Rail but Transpennine Express too. They’ve had to cope with increases in rail fares during a period when there’s absolute chaos in our rail transport services in Greater Manchester as a whole.”

She added: “This should have happened long ago, as Labour called for. We must ensure our rail network, and public transport infrastructure as a whole, delivers for us all, helping to reduce car journeys, congestion and air pollution.”