It’s set to be a long, hot, summer – and that’s just in the Northern timetable planning department.
AdvertisementSweat will be dripping off the walls as the head-scratching continues on how to solve a problem like Northern fail.
Tonight, Blog Preston, calls on its readers to join a petition from Northern media titles from Wirral to Wallsend who have had enough.
Northern media has put rivalries aside to recognise that the pitiful state of one of our train operators can no longer be tolerated.
Yes we like to moan about everything, we’re British after all, but we also have a strong sense of fairness and decency. And when you buy a train ticket you expect that back from the operator you are entering into a contract with from the moment you punch in your pin number. That contract is not being honoured.
We would like to make it clear that this is not about those frontline staff at Northern. We, and many readers, think they are doing a very good job in a very difficult set of circumstances.
Blame cannot just be applied to Northern either. They take on a franchise and the government is responsible for dishing those out and ensuring its taxpayers are getting a good deal. In the case of Northern we’re not, and we’re not getting a good deal from taxpayers either.
It’ll be worth the pain we’re always told when Network Rail rip up another piece of track. It’ll be the end of pacer trains, they say as another one makes an end of life noise as it pulls up into platform two to whisk you to York. It’ll be, it’ll be…. worth the wait?
Read more: Northern temporary timetable introduced – what it means for Preston passengers
Preston has seen huge disruption on its lines to Blackpool, and petty rivalries aside, it’s a key commuter and pleasure route for many. And the Preston to Manchester line is becoming unbearable, and so many rely on it for their careers in a much bigger city down the M61.
We're speaking with one voice across Lancashire and Yorkshire #onerail pic.twitter.com/U9OPsQ18UX
— Manchester News MEN (@MENnewsdesk) June 5, 2018
Many of our readers are at the end of their tether, feeling the pressure of being late for work, losing countless hours waiting or being sat on trains that should be going faster, have more carriages.
The Great North Rail Project the Twitter feed proudly declares.
The Great North Fail Project we proudly declare.
We call on our politicians at the most local level, and those representing us to the Commons, to ensure the voices of Preston commuters are heard. Our railway station has a proud history and we’re a vital passenger hub.
But what we have right now, is shameful.
Sign the petition for #OneNorth and join those calling on the government to do more for Preston, Lancashire and the North as a whole.
Do you use Northern trains? What do you think about the service? What’s your experience? Let us know in the comments below