More than half of commuters will ditch rail if chaos goes on

SURVEY SHOWS WIDESPREAD PASSENGER DISCONTENT AT CONTINUING PROBLEMS ON RAILWAY SYSTEM

MORE than half of Northern commuters in Greater Manchester would ditch trains for other means of transport if the chaos continues, according to a survey.

A total of 1,749 people took part in the North West Rail Survey – revealing the extent of travellers’ frustrations.

In the widespread poll, the M.E.N. – in conjunction with other northern papers including the Liverpool Echo and The Yorkshire Post – asked rail users about their recent experiences.

Of those surveyed, 603 said they regularly use trains to travel to or from Greater Manchester. Overall, 59pc agreed they would have to find another way to travel if rail services remain as unreliable as they have been since Northern made timetable changes.

In the survey, carried out using Google Consumer Surveys, 43pc said they had boarded a train in the last two months only to find there were no seats available. A total of 48pc reported that their train had been delayed by more than 10 minutes and more than a third (39pc) reported cancellations.

A further 26pc reported having to take a replacement rail bus, while 11pc said their train journey had been cut short. Around half of those surveyed (54pc) said they would travel on train services in the north more often if newer trains were used. And 81pc agreed the government should commit to spending as much per head of population on the railways in the north of the country as it does in the south.

More than half (53pc) urged government bosses to prioritise major rail projects in the north over those in the south east and London.

And around two-thirds (64pc) of those answering the survey agreed that we would have a better railway system in the north if it was run by authorities in the north, rather than from London.

Long delays, cancelled services and a lack of seats and carriages have affected thousands of rail commuters over the last two months. Northern is commissioning an independent report after a slew of cancellations and delays caused chaos for passengers.

They have claimed they did not know disaster was looming on their network until two days before a new timetable threw services into chaos. The Rail North Partnership, along with the Department for Transport and Transport for the North, have agreed an action plan with Northern to introduce improved driver rostering, training and additional contingency drivers.

A spokesman for Northern said: “We fully understand the frustration felt by our customers and would like to again apologise for the unacceptable service many have experienced. We are absolutely committed to resolving the service issues and are working around the clock to get back on track.”