Northern is looking at running a reduced timetable on Sundays for the next four months, the Manchester Evening News can reveal.
The rail operator has come under intense criticism in recent months over its regular cancellation of trains, particularly on Sundays. Bosses at Northern have admitted that services are ‘not good enough’ – but they have warned it will take up to three years to fix.
It comes after union members rejected an interim deal for train conductors which Northern said would be key to cutting cancellations. The M.E.N. understands the operator, which is publicly controlled, is now seeking more money from the Treasury for a new pay offer.
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In a private meeting with local leaders today (January 13), Northern has also set out plans to extend cuts to Sunday services in the North West until May. The operator has argued that extending the reduced timetable would provide ‘more certainty for customers’.
But the M.E.N. understands that the operator has not reached an agreement with the Rail North Committee for the four-month extension yet. Northern has confirmed that the ‘temporary’ Sunday timetable will remain in place until the end of January at least.
It follows a furious response from the Rail North Committee, which is chaired by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, in November when the operator set out ‘ambitious targets’ to improve services. Northern bosses apologised for the recent poor performance and promised to cut cancellations to 2 per cent with 90 per cent of services arriving no more than three minutes late.
However, Northern’s chief operating officer Matt Rice said that these targets would not be met until 2027 and warned that the operator will need ‘big timetable changes’ to make it happen. Mr Burnham accused Northern of making passengers wait ‘too long’.
He demanded that Northern returns to the committee early in the new year to set out milestones the operator will aim for ahead of its 2027 target. The M.E.N. understands the meeting of the Transport for the North’s committee has taken place behind closed doors.
At the meeting, Northern was set to provide more details on how it would deliver a ‘customer-focused seven day railway’. The operator has said it faces ‘deep-rooted’ and ‘complicated’ challenges, including disputes with unions, which ‘will take time’ to fix.
The rail operator reached a three-year rest-day working agreement for train drivers with the Aslef union last year. However, an interim four-month offer to the RMT union which affects conductors was rejected by members in November, resulting in further disruption.
Northern train services were cancelled on Sundays throughout December after the operator promised to put a reduced timetable in place ahead of the Christmas period. The operator has confirmed that it will continue to run a reduced Sunday timetable this month.
A Northern spokesperson said: “A temporary Sunday timetable was introduced in the North West in December to reduce the number of short-notice cancellations and provide passengers with more certainty. It is due remain in place until the end of January 2025.
“We are currently looking at options for beyond that and we will work with the Rail North Committee to develop the best plan for our customers.
“We accept our performance has not been good enough, especially in the North West, for some time and understand the impact this has on our customers. We are working hard to address issues with traincrew availability so we can improve reliability for our customers.”
The M.E.N. understands the issues raised at the private meeting will be discussed when the Rail North Committee next meets in public on February 25.