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06
Aug 2020
600 rail replacement bus journeys between Harrogate and Leeds last year
Train operator Northern ordered over 600 rail replacement bus journeys on the troubled Harrogate to Leeds and Leeds to Harrogate services in 2019.
Figures obtained by the Stray Ferret through a Freedom of Information request reveals the scale of disruption to commuters throughout last year, which Northern blamed on "significant" engineering work, poor weather and the UCI cycling event.
Engineering work is carried out by Network Rail who own and maintain the tracks.
In January 2020, the government stripped the Northern of its franchise due to years of poor performance. The government has operated the franchise since March 1.
According to research published earlier this year by the Sunday Times and ontimetrains.co.uk, the 7.13 am Harrogate to Leeds service was the most cancelled in the UK during the first three months of 2020.
Read more:
More trains and buses in Harrogate district as people urged back to work
Harrogate and York train services to double with £10 million scheme
We also asked Northern for the number of rail replacement bus journeys between York and Harrogate — which was a fraction of the Harrogate to Leeds figure.
So far in 2020, there have been over 80 replacement bus journeys between Harrogate and Leeds, but train schedules have been reduced due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The full figures provided to us by Northern are below.
A spokesperson for Northern told the Stray Ferret:
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