Transport secretary says he has started process after year of chaos and cancellationsThe process to strip Northern rail of its franchise has begun after years of poor performance, the transport secretary has said. Asked whether his intention was for the firm to be removed from the franchise, Shapps said: “That’s right. While Network Rail, the owner and operator of Britain’s rail infrastructure, accepted much of the immediate blame for engineering delays and the rescheduling process, Northern has failed to restore punctuality this year. The Northern Powerhouse Partnership thinktank said TransPennine Express were “equally as bad if not worse” than Northern, and should be treated the same by Shapps. The key issue is what happens next.”Reported plans to split the current Northern franchise into two businesses was “a knee-jerk response and would likely make problems worse”, he added.

Source: The Guardian January 02, 2020 09:49 UTC