The transport secretary said he may take the Nortern Rail franchise into public ownership over Arriva’s poor running of the service DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGESThe bosses of Britain’s biggest rail operators received inflation-busting pay increases last year despite mounting passenger anger over rising fares and delays on the network. An analysis by The Times shows that the heads of all main rail company ownership groups have enjoyed huge rises over the past 12 months, with the majority on seven-figure packages. The head of the bus and rail giant Arriva got the biggest pay increase of the serving rail chiefs, despite severe criticism of the company’s handling of the Northern Rail franchise. The disclosure that Manfred Rudhart, 54, had received an 18 per cent pay increase, from £1.1 million to £1.34 million, was made as Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said that the company would lose its Northern Rail contract…

Source: The Times January 03, 2020 00:02 UTC