Millions of people are experiencing “a dire level of service”
in recent weeks, despite introducing reduced timetables earlier this year to try and reduce disruption.
Lord McLoughlin, who is a former Transport Secretary, said: “It’s completely inexcusable that communities in the North of England are having to experience such a dire level of service. It requires an urgent intervention as it's undermining businesses and holding back economic growth.“At present, one operator TPE, has two in every five trains not arriving on time and it’s becoming the new normal on a network with far too many trains being cancelled.
She also said Transport Secretary Mark Harper wants to meet with Northern leaders “as soon as possible” to discuss the disruption.Avanti West Coast, owned by FirstGroup, cut the number of services it runs in August, to try and reduce disruption caused by a driver shortage. It came after they refused to stop volunteering to cover rest days.