Fury at CBE for rail boss

PASSENGERS have slammed the decision to bestow a royal honour on the boss of Network Rail against a backdrop of chaos on the network.

Mark Carne, who will stand down later this year, receives a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

It follows months of disruption on rail routes across the region, made worse by the introduction of a new Northern timetable last month.

Network Rail delays to electrification and its handling of the new schedule has been cited as one of the reasons for the problems.

Passenger Katie Macdonald, who has a season pass for her commute from Bromley Cross to Manchester Victoria, said: “They’re having a laugh. If the CBE is for disservices to transport and a failure to deliver any kind of customer service, customer satisfaction or any kind of reliable transport, I would fully back the award.”

The Department for Transport admitted the timing of the announcement of the outgoing chief executive’s award for services to the rail industry following timetabling issues was ‘unfortunate’, but added that recent problems should not detract from Mr Carne’s overall service.

But union boss Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, likened the timing of the honour to ‘rewarding the captain of the Titanic for jumping ship’.