‘Deep concern’ over cancellation of trains during Christmas week
FRESH CRITICISM has been heaped on rail operator Northern after “hundreds” of trains were cancelled as travellers scrambled to get home over the Christmas period.
The Transport for the North campaign group intensified its calls for the rail operator to improve its service to passengers amid cancellations on Christmas Eve and tomorrow, mostly affecting journeys in the North-West between Lancaster and Morecambe, Manchester Piccadilly and Hadfield, and Liverpool Lime Street and Wigan North Western.
Northern said “unprecedented levels of sickness” and annual leave entitlements led to pre-planned cancellations and apologised to travellers.
But the operator only made people aware of its reduced services on Monday morning ahead of the reduced services on Tuesday and was unable to provide The Yorkshire Post with the details of exactly how many cancellations were made.
The strategic rail director for Transport for the North, David Hoggarth, said: “We are deeply concerned that, on top of ongoing poor performance and heavy disruption during the first week of the new timetable, Northern is having to cancel hundreds of services in the North-West on Christmas Eve and tomorrow.
“It is totally unacceptable that passengers once again do not have a full service they can rely on, especially at this busy time of year. We have made our concerns clear to Northern and reiterated that passengers deserve better.
“We expect to see comprehensive preparations in place to enable a return to a more reliable and robust service as people go back to work in January.”
A Northern spokesman said: “Alongside the annual leave entitlements at this time of the year, we currently have unprecedented levels of sickness. That means we expect there to be some preplanned cancellations on certain lines.”
He added customers are normally advised at least a day in advance of any pre-planned cancellations, although this can vary due to the “operational complexity” of planning rail routes.