THE UK Government has announced rail services on routes operated by Northern in northern England will be brought under public control, prompting a union leader to call for the Scottish Government to follow suit and “end the ScotRail misery story” by nationalising the service.
Grant Shapps, the UK Transport Secretary, said he wanted passengers to see "real and tangible improvements across the network as soon as possible".
Manuel Cortes, Ggeneral Secretary of the TSSA transport union, welcomed the decision but claimed it was time the Government understood that "franchising of our railways, while stuffing the mouths of shareholders with gold, has completely failed".
The Government-controlled Operator of Last Resort [OLR] will take over the franchise on March 1, under the name Northern Trains.
The chaotic introduction of new timetables in May 2018 saw hundreds of Northern trains a day cancelled. Punctuality and reliability problems continue to blight the network.
Office of Rail and Road figures showed just 55 per cent of Northern trains arrived at stations within one minute of the timetable in the 12 months to January 4, compared with the average across Britain of 65 per cent.
German-based Arriva was due to run Northern until March 2025.
The OLR already runs services on the East Coast Main Line under the LNER brand, following the failure of the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise.
In a written statement to Parliament, Mr Shapps said: "It's no surprise that passengers have lost trust in the North's rail network. The service provided by the rail network in the North has failed to meet the needs of passengers.
"People across the North deserve better, their communities deserve better and I am determined to achieve that."
He added: "This is a new beginning for Northern but it is only a beginning. Northern's network is huge and complex, some of the things which are wrong are not going to be quick or easy to put right."
But Andy McDonald, his Labour Shadow, said: “The Tories have refused to hold Arriva to the terms of its Northern Rail contract. Millions of passengers have faced misery and delays yet this government has done nothing for years. And now, despite their failure, another private transport company is getting a Tory bailout.
“Today’s admission of failure after years of denial is frankly too little too late. So much for levelling up the North; this Government seems intent to keep the north down."
He added: “All failing rail contracts should be taken into public control as a major step towards uniting track and train."
Tim Farron for the Liberal Democrats said: "This is just the first step on a long road to improving the trains across the North.
"The Conservatives must now reverse their cancellations of the electrification of the Lakes Line and the Trans-Pennine line. It must press on with HS2, while increasing transparency and accountability of this project," added the Cumbrian MP.
Chris Burchell, Managing Director of Arriva's UK Trains division, claimed the company’s franchose plan had become undeliverable “largely because of external factors”.
The problems included delayed and cancelled infrastructure projects and prolonged industrial action.
Mr Burchell claimed the company had "helped set strong foundations for future improvement on the network" but added: "A new plan is needed that will secure the future for Northern train services. As such, we understand the Government's decision today."
But Mr Cortes urged the Scottish Government to follow suit and take ScotRail into public ownership.
He said: “ScotRail’s nine per cent improvement came after its worst run in punctuality and reliability in 25 years; Abellio could hardly have done worse. Like many ScotRail trains, this improvement in service was long overdue.”
He paid tribute to ScotRail staff whose hard work, often under immense pressure, had made the dramatic improvement possible.
“The years of falling service levels were due to chronic and deliberate understaffing,” declared Mr Cortes. “Sadly, it seems Abellio have not learned the lessons from their mistakes as they now have plans on the table to cut staff in travel shops, which can only mean poorer services for customers once more.”
The union chief added: “Of course, the best way to ensure ScotRail services continue to improve is to take it into public ownership right away and keep it there.
“If the Tories can bring themselves to run Northern in public ownership it’s not a lot to ask for the SNP to do likewise and end the ScotRail misery story.”
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