Response demanded from Transport Secretary

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has been asked to make a statement to the House on the transport delays across the Northern network, following Lisa Smart MP’s recent question to the Commons. 

Following Lisa’s question, the Leader of the House, Lucy Powell MP, has written to the Secretary of State asking her to respond as soon as possible.

Lisa asked for Government time to be allocated to a debate on the issues, saying: “Trains between Rose Hill and Manchester Piccadilly are timetabled to run every 30 minutes in the morning. Yet this morning only one made it between 7 and 9, and that was only two carriages. 

“This lack of service is not unusual. It happens once or twice a week, and since the breakdown of discussions between the conductors and the already nationalised Northern, there have been no services on a Sunday.”

There was already a reduced service on the line from an original service every 30 minutes, and trains are regularly cancelled the night before they run, which means that they are not included in cancellation figures.

Lisa said: “This situation seems to be getting worse, not better. Hundreds of people have been in touch with me to complain. 

”One resident is having so many problems being late to pick up their child from after school club that they have had to start looking for a different job where they don’t have to use the trains to get to and from work. That is simply unacceptable.”