Mayors representing northern regions were called into a crisis meeting yesterday by West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin, over concerns about the ongoing disruption facing rail passengers in the region.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham; Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotherham; Mayor of the North of Tyne Jamie Driscoll and Mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard were called to the meeting, to debate the upheaval caused by the cancellation of hundreds of services by operators including TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast and Northern. Together, the mayors represent nearly nine million people.
The news comes as Avanti West Coast was this week put on a six month warning by the former transport minister Kevin Foster, to make serious improvements to their service or risk losing the contract.
Tracy Brabin, said: “We as Northern Mayors come together to send a clear message that we will not stand for this shambles.
“This is inflicting misery on millions of people, derailing our plans to build a strong Northern economy and putting us in the slow lane.
“The North has been left behind for far too long, and we’re calling on the third transport secretary in as many months to step in with an immediate intervention.”
The cancellations of services, caused by a number of issues including a shortage of drivers and union action, have left thousands of passengers facing last-minute timetable changes, lengthy delays or journeys on unreliable replacement services and the mayors are looking for a solution.
Brabin has called for Rishi Sunak’s Government to step in, and the mayors plan to make direct contact with new Transport Secretary Mark Harper as a priority, to request a meeting with operators and unions to help deal with the ongoing issues.
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