Northern leaders could get new rail powers

Grayling looks favourably on ‘crisis measures’ idea

NORTHERN LEADERS could be given extra powers over the railways in times of crisis under proposals being taken “very seriously” by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, who survived a vote of no confidence in the House of Commons yesterday.

Mr Grayling responded positively to calls from a senior Tory MP for the Transport Secretary to be given stronger powers to direct rail companies during times of disruption

These could include ordering extra stops on certain services.

Government responsibility for rail in the region is shared with Transport for the North (TfN) and so any new powers could be split with Westminster.

Mr Grayling made his comments during a Labour debate bemoaning his failure to take responsibility for the timetabling chaos in recent weeks.

Passengers on Northern and Govia Thameslink (GTR) services have suffered hundreds of cancelled or delayed trains since timetables were changed on May 20.

Northern was then forced to introduce an interim timetable on June 4 which removed 165 daily journeys from the railways.

In the Commons, Tory former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, whose Sevenoaks constituency in Kent is served by GTR, said: “These are essential public services getting our constituents to work and getting their children to school.

“Would he consider taking stronger powers for himself in times of disruption that would allow him to direct the rail operators to work more closely together or to put additional stops in to help those who simply can’t get to work in the morning?”

Mr Grayling agreed with Sir Michael’s comments, adding: “This is something we will have to look at very seriously indeed.”

The Transport Secretary also revealed TfN was not due to finalise the details of an industryfunded compensation scheme until June 28, with payments to start in early July. Commuters with weekly, monthly and annual tickets will be entitled to up to four weeks of compensation.

Rail Minister Jo Johnson said Northern services were “beginning to turn the corner”, with 80 per cent of services running on time under the interim timetable, compared to 66 per cent under the botched timetable.

But Batley and Spen MP Tracy Brabin, who spoke to commuters at her local station on Friday, said she was “startled” at “how chaotic and unreliable” services still are around West Yorkshire and to Manchester.

Ms Brabin said she heard stories of passengers crammed into carriages “like sardines”, with one passenger forced to stand in the toilet alongside six others.

One commuter, who has lost two hours of leisure time away from his job due to the rail chaos, warned that the situation was “threatening the livelihoods of many” who are struggling to get to work, Ms Brabin said.

THE NORTHERN rail company failed to register a single improvement with passengers even before last month’s timetable changes threw its services into chaos, it was revealed yesterday.

The latest National Rail Passenger Survey by the watchdog Transport Focus found the company’s rating across 38 categories to be “significantly unchanged” or worse than last spring, with punctuality seven per cent lower.

Northern has been heavily criticised for its performance since new national timetables were introduced on May 20. Little more than half of its services were on time on some days and the company was forced to issue an emergency schedule which withdrew 165 of its daily journeys.

Yesterday, its network was decimated again as members of the RMT union staged a 24-hour walkout over the role of guards – an action it will repeat tomorrow and on Saturday.

But the Transport Focus report, based on a survey which took place between January and March, reveals that the company’s record was already in question.

Well under half of the 1,875 passengers surveyed said they were satisfied with the way the company handled delays, and more than a quarter thought its services poor value for money.

Northern scored an overall satisfaction rating of 80 – three per cent down on last spring and the sixth-lowest in the country.

The firm is run by Arriva Rail North, which took over the franchise for Yorkshire’s local services two years ago, with the promise of significant improvements.

Govia Thameslink, the other company most affected by the timetable chaos, had recorded the country’s biggest increase in satisfaction earlier in the year, 11 per cent higher than last spring.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, said Thameslink – whose chief executive resigned in the wake of the debacle – had now “shot itself in the foot”.

Nationally, passenger satisfaction was “significantly down”, with punctuality, too few seats and poor stations the biggest complaints, Transport Focus said. Some 81 per cent of passengers were satisfied with their journey, three per cent fewer than last spring. Services were described as “poor” by eight per cent of respondents.

Mr Smith said that despite the bad weather during the survey period, general performance was “still under stress”.

He added: “A reliable railway remains the key driver of passenger satisfaction.”

Jac Starr, managing director of customer experience at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the rail industry, said: “These results show how important it is to deliver on our long-term plan to run more trains, more reliably.”