TROUBLED rail firm Northern is to be brought under Government control from March 1.

The announcement was made in Parliament this lunchtime, Wednesday, by transport secretary Grant Shapps.

The company has been under fire for delayed trains for months.

Just this week, it was criticised for cancelling some stops at the new £20.5 million Warrington West railway station in Chapelford.

Warrington South MP Andy Carter hit out at the reliability problems earlier this week.

Northern runs trains from Warrington Central, Bank Quay, Warrington West, Birchwood, Padgate, Glazebrook and Sankey.

In a written statement to Parliament, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he wanted "real and tangible" improvements for passengers on Northern's routes.

He said: "I am announcing today that from 1 March the Northern Rail franchise will be taken into public ownership and the Government will begin operating services through the public-sector operator - the so-called operator of last resort.

"The public-sector operator is a company entirely owned by my department and run by experienced railway managers.

"It already owns and oversee another franchise, East Coast, which it brands as London North Eastern Railway. Passenger satisfaction has risen in the nineteen months it has been operating the service.

"This is a new beginning for Northern, but it is only a beginning. Northern's network is huge and complex, some of the things which are wrong are not going to be quick or easy to put right.

"Nonetheless, I am determined that Northern passengers see real and tangible improvements across the network as soon as possible."

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Arriva was due to run Northern until March 2025.

TSSA general secretary  Manuel Cortes said: “I’m glad that at last Grant Shapps has agreed with our union that the Northern franchise has run out of rail. The only question is – what took him and this Tory government so long at act? 

“It was clear even before the timetabling chaos across the North of England in 2018 that Northern was a basket case.  

“Since then things have gone backwards, cancellations remain commonplace, with few services running on time and of late we’ve seen another spate of timetabling problems.  

“It’s time the government understood that the franchising of our railways – while stuffing the mouths of shareholders with gold - has completely failed.  

“No doubt we are likely to be here again in the not too distant future, with the Department for Transport recently indicating that South Western Railway is not sustainable in the long-term. 

Warrington Guardian: Northern Rail

“The Northern announcement is further confirmation that the taxpayer, as so-called Operator of Last Resort, is actually the Operator of First Choice. Public railways are hugely popular with passengers and this Tory government would do well to listen to those voices.  

“Frankly the only way to turn this mess around is to create a system in our country which works for passengers rather than profiteers right across the board. That means ending the Frankenstein experiment of private railways once and for all.”

Transport for the North has also welcomed the news.

Barry White, chief executive, said: “Our hard-pressed passengers have been calling for action for some time – as have our members. Now, at last, we have the chance of a fresh start. Action has been taken and we can move forward. This new initiative must put passengers first and provide a reliable rail service that rebuilds trust that has been lost.”

He added: “In addition to this change, essential infrastructure is needed to reach the levels of performance and reliability we need, and we now need to see early commitment to this and accelerated delivery from Government.”

Barry said the move provides “a bridge to a better, longer term solution that works for the North” and marks “the start of a journey.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “Today’s news is a victory for passengers who have had to endure almost two years of misery and mayhem on Northern Rail.

“We are pleased the government has finally answered our call and returned the Northern franchise to public ownership.  But today’s welcome move by ministers is only the start of fixing the North’s railways.

Warrington Guardian: MP Andy Burnham

“The Government must now commit to investing in much-needed rail infrastructure and work with leaders across the North to deliver the vision and funding needed to build the modern transport network that the people of our region deserve.”

Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols said she attended the briefing from Mr Shapps earlier.

She tweeted: “While I welcome the news given Northern Rail's record of failure, I pressed him to confirm Northern staff will retain their T&Cs and to work with rail unions on the transition.”

More soon.