Northern train services will 'collapse into utter chaos' if issues not resolved, businesses warn

• Rail passengers give their views on services.

Train services across the north will "collapse into utter chaos" unless issues around driver shortages are fixed, business leaders have warned.

They said cancellations across the region were "wreaking havoc", adding the situation was not "good enough".

In the letter the Northern Powerhouse Partnership urged Transport Secretary Mark Harper, to act, and said the situation could become worse than the 2018 Northern Rail timetable crisis.

Rail travel in Northern England has been severely disrupted following a number of cancellations across the network, impounded further by strike action.

Months of disruption has seen hundreds of services cancelled by a number of rail operators, including TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast and Northern.

It follows an ongoing dispute over driver working hours, with operators' over-reliance on "rest day working agreements", where drivers can volunteer to work on weekends in return for being paid overtime.

The government has called for a change in working practices in the wake of the pandemic, and a dispute between First Group - which runs Avanti and TransPennine - and its drivers has led to a collapse in drivers agreeing to volunteer, creating a depleted service for passengers.

Referring to the situation, in his letter, Lord Jim O'Neil, said: "As northern business leaders, we call for you to give the two northern train operators, including TPE, the backing they need to negotiate a rest day working agreement this week so we can start seeing dramatic improvements."

The letter was signed by bosses at nearly 40 companies and organisations, including Manchester Airports Group, Virgin Money, The Piece Hall Trust and Hybrid Air Vehicles.

In their letter, Lord O’Neill and Mr Maier - both Vice Chairs of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership - warned the current situation cannot continue.

They wrote: "As you meet our Metro Mayors here we want to send a clear message: we are not able to continue as we are.

"If we do not get approval for a rest day working agreement to be negotiated this week it will be too late.

"We already are seeing more cancellations across the North on TransPennine Express than after the May 2018 timetable crisis.

"When the new timetable comes in the system will collapse into utter chaos."

Business leaders are urging government to sort the ongoing problems across the North, warning it is badly effecting the regional economy.

The letter adds: "Northern prosperity is national prosperity. It is time for you to act and stop the crisis, otherwise it will only deepen further on your watch."

Mr Harper was due to meet with Metro Mayors from across the North to discuss the issue, but was forced to cancel. A new meeting is expected to be held this week in Manchester.

He has promised a "proper seven-day railway" which is not dependent on volunteers to run as normal.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "It’s unacceptable that poor levels of service and strikes are preventing hard-working people from going about their daily lives.

"The Government is investing billions into northern transport and is working closely with train operators to ensure new drivers are swiftly recruited and long term solutions are put in place so passengers can travel confidently without disruption."

John Tilley from the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union said: "The North West economy can't stand to have this sort of third rate train service, we need to be able to get across the region.

"We need to interconnect between our towns and cities.

"We need to get up and down to the south and across to the east.

"And with these two companies at the moment, that's virtually impossible to do.

"It's a lottery."

Avanti has been under fire for months over cancellations, delays, slashed timetables and a lack of advanced tickets for journeys on the West Coast Main Line.

It has recently been warned it could lose its franchise if it fails to deliver "significant" improvements on the West Coast Main Line, the government has warned.

The rail provider has been given until 1 April next year to improve its services after a reduction of trains in the summer.

The company reduced its timetable from seven trains per hour to a minimum of four per hour on 14 August.

Trains were removed from the timetable in August to cut short-notice cancellations after a sharp decline in the number of drivers voluntarily working on rest days for extra pay.

TransPennine, which Labour claim cancelled more than 100 services on two days in October, has blamed the number of last minute cancellations on staffing issues.

A spokesman said it has suffered “prolonged disruption” from a range of issues, which include a training backlog and staff sickness.

TransPennine Express said: "Prior to December 2021 TransPennine Express (TPE) had posted its best ever performance results, and was subsequently recognised as "Train Operator of the Year" at the Rail Business Awards.

"Since then, prolonged disruption affecting our services has been caused by a range of issues including ongoing high levels of train crew sickness, a persisting training backlog as a direct result of Covid, and infrastructure issues outside of TPE’s control.

"Combined, these factors have seen a number of on-the-day or 'evening before' cancellations being made.

"In normal circumstances, we have enough people to fully operate our scheduled timetable – and have more drivers now than ever before – however the combination of factors has put unprecedented pressure on our ability to effectively operate our services.

"Our customers want, and deserve, reliable and punctual train services, and we are sorry have not been able to consistently provide that due to the ongoing issues.

"TPE’s team continues to work flat-out to deliver higher levels of service delivery and to tackle the issues that are being experienced by customers."

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