£16k rise for rail turmoil director
One of the bosses blamed for thi s summer’s rail chaos trousered an extra £16,000 as passengers faced a nightmare on his network.
TransPennine Express managing director Leo Goodwin pocketed a £ 360,000 pay package.
It came as his firm was revealed to be the worst train operator in Britain by Network Rail.
Department of Transport figures showed the northern rail firm ran the most overcrowded train in the country – a service from Glasgow to Manchester with 191 seats for 403 people.
And during this summer’s rail meltdown, up to half of their trains were delayed or cancelled.
New accounts show that in the financial year leading up to March, Goodwin received £ 275,000 basic salary, plus £49,000 pension contributions and a £36,000 bonus.This was up on his £265,000 basic pay, £ 46,000 pension and £33,000 bonus the year before.
RMT Union spokesman Geoff Martin said: “In the same week that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling launched an attack on frontline rail workers pay, here we have another top train company boss filling his boots at passengers’ expense while the government cheers them on.
“It’s the most disgusting hypocrisy.”
TransPennine and other operators were blasted when weeks of disruption followed the introduction of new timetables in May.