Anger at a lack of sympathy at station
MY wife, who has commuted for over 30 years from Mills Hill to Manchester, recently got a fine for not getting a ticket at the station.
Despite efforts at Victoria and the guards refusing to issue her ticket she got a £20 fine - which we’ve paid. The staff were rude, intimidating and totally unhelpful.
My wife, who is 61 years old, was really upset with this disgraceful attitude and Northern Rail’s total lack of understanding, willingness to accept money for a ticket and inept capabilities of the low intelligence of their staff. She was really upset. Chris Grayling has to go as does (Arriva Rail North managing director) David Brown. I also hear from Grayling that passengers on Northern rail should “get similar compensation” as the Southern Rail users received, which I found offensive - should they not receive the same conditions?
Ridiculous situation, and totally unacceptable. Neville Baguley, Manchester AN astonishing fact about the railways is that down south, virtually new trains are destined to be replaced by newer trains and the redundant trains will be stored out of use in the sidings without any future. Who in their right mind would countenance such a waste of resources when we in the north suffer some of the worst clapped out trains ever to run.
Our area covers from Nottingham to Carlisle, which the new Northern franchise is supposed to serve.
They have promised, when they took over the company to improve the service and put the customer first, and just look at the reality.
Why can’t we have modern cast offs to replace the rubbishy carriages?
Even the electrics running out of Liverpool are old stock sent up from London while Londoners received vast quantities of new trains.
If the north is shortchanged any more, it will be a buffer stop for Grayling and even the government as its reputation will be in tatters.
They cannot conceive the agony rail travellers have endured under Northern for years on end - the worst service since the old LMS.
That with Beeching and now this, we wonder what on earth will bring about a decent fit for purpose rail service in our region.
It’s just promises, promises, promises, words, words, words. Never action. James Bickerstaffe, Bury I BOUGHT the M.E.N. on Tuesday to read about how the government has failed again in it’s promise to upgrade Manchester’s railways, despite this being in their manifesto.
The BBC news at 6pm then trumpeted that (transport secretary) Chris Grayling has given the go ahead to a third runway at Heathrow.
When will we ever get the investment in the North that we need and deserve? The ‘northern powerhouse’ is just government hot air. Sheila Whetnall, Keswick