Calls for Northern to be stripped of rail franchise 'as soon as possible'
The Mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region have called on the Transport Secretary to terminate Northern’s rail franchise "as soon as possible".
Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram say "the North is no longer prepared to put up with a second class service".
Announcing their call, the Metro Mayors say they believe Northern has "consistently failed" to show they are able to take the action needed to restore public confidence in the service, or to deliver their franchise requirements.
They say that from December 2018 to April 2019:
The RMT union say they "welcome" the call for the services to be brought back into the public sector.
They will be "seeking immediate assurances" that jobs, working conditions and pensions of members will be protected.
In response, Northern said they are "working hard to improve the performance and reliability for customers" following last spring's disruption - which they say was caused by delays to work outside their control.
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