Rest day agreements to get Northern back on track

Too many cancellations are damaging the operator’s ability to provide a reliable railway. And the issues run deeper than the use of fax machines, says PHILIP HAIGH

Philip Haigh Transport writer

WHAT to do with Northern? Government nationalised it in 2020 because of poor performance. Almost five years on, the operator is under fire from local politicians for… poor performance. The latest crisis came to a head on October 30, when Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham chaired a meeting of the Rail North Committee (part of Transport for the North). Just that morning, Burnham said Northern had cancelled 155 trains. And he was speaking a little after 0830, so there hadn’t been much morning. Northern Managing Director Tricia Williams explained that the company had no rest day working agreement with drivers in the ASLEF union. This makes it hard for the company to cover short-notice absences. She also said it had no agreement with conductors west of the Pennines to work…

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RAIL (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 1022

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