Northern Apologises as Commuter Says “Almost Every Train Is Delayed”
Written by Jay Nicholson on 23rd November 2024
Northern’s Chief Operating Officer, Matt Rice, has responded to the recent complaints about the delays and cancellations of Northern trains in the North East region.
Between October 13th and November 9th, 71% of trains arrived within three minutes of their scheduled times, however, some passengers were still heavily affected by these delays and cancellations.
Harry Johnson-Clark, 18, commutes to the University of Sunderland from Hartlepool and missed his 9am lecture on 22nd November due to cancellations of the 08:01 and 08:40 services from Hartlepool to Sunderland.
He said: “As someone who relies on them (trains) for transportation, I’m let down at least once a week by a cancellation, and almost every train is delayed.”
Matt Rice, Northern’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are sorry for our recent performance, accept it has not been good enough and understand the impact this has on our customers.
“We are working hard to address issues with train crew availability so we can improve reliability for our customers.
“We recently secured a new rest-day working agreement for our train drivers and have offered conductors a new deal to work on Sundays. Following constructive talks, the RMT’s National Executive Committee will review our four-month offer before putting it to their members for a referendum vote.
“We realize there is more to be done to address issues with performance and are now focused on delivering our improvement plan.”