Mayor urged to help improve rail services in North YorkshireHow has Northern performed since government control?

The government takeover of Transpennine Express has shone a light on a similar service closer to Harrogate.

Northern, which operates trains to Harrogate and Knaresborough between Leeds and York, was effectively nationalised back in March 2020.

The then Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, brought the company under government control from March 1, 2020, amid years of cancellations and delays.

Northern has been operated by the government’s DfT OLR Holdings Ltd for the last three years.

So, what can passengers of Transpennine Express learn from Northern’s performance since then?

Northern performance

The Office of Rail and Road collects annual statistics on the performance of rail companies.

Most recent annual figures, published in July 2022, show Northern managed 465 stations at the end of March 2022 compared to 478 before it was brought under government control.

It also shows that the percentage of trains cancelled was 3.3% compared with 4.1% in the 2019/20.

The figures are caveated by the fact that 2020/21 was effected by the coronavirus pandemic, when fewer people travelled by train and the country was put into lockdown three times.

Read more:

Meanwhile, the percentage of trains on time between April 2021 and March 2022 was 67.0% compared with 76.3% in the previous year and 55.1% in 2019/20.

The number of passenger complaints has also dropped since 2019/20 from 34.249 to 14,379 in 2021/22.

Perhaps the most striking figure is the number of delay compensation claims.

In 2019/20, this stood at 364,689 and fell to 22,836 the following year. In 2021/22, the figure was 98,934.

How has Northern performed since government control?

The number of passenger delay compensation claims at Northern since 2018/19. Data: Office for Rail and Road.

More recent figures show similar results.

In April 2023, 65.6% of trains were on time, while 2,545 services were cancelled in full.

Brian Dunsby, of the Harrogate Line Supporters Group, said the group was pleased with the way that Northern has performed since going under public ownership.

He said:

“We believe that the Harrogate line services have performed very well since it came under public control in 2020 – especially so considering the recent pandemic and the industrial action that followed.

“The services that we lost for six months during the cut backs in 2022 have all been restored and they are very well used.

“The latest timetable just issued starts on May 21, 2023, and it includes all the vital services needed to operate a half-hourly frequency between Harrogate and Leeds and between Harrogate and York – from early morning until late evening.  So we are very happy – provided that they do actually operate as planned.

“The three-car Class 170 trains are much larger and  more comfortable, much quieter and faster than the previous Class 150 series and the even older Class 140 series trains. The passenger loading does appear to be increasing – but not to the point of being over-crowded.

“We do hope that Northern Trains continues to keep up the latest scheduled timetable.”

Need for a reset

For politicians in the north, the decision to put Transpennine into government hands was necessary.

Lord McLoughlin, chair of Transport for the North, said Transpennine needed “a reset” to improve.

He said:

“We welcome the decision announced by the Secretary of State to bring the contract under Operator of Last Resort (OLR) for TransPennine Express.

“The TfN Board’s position on this issue has been clear for some considerable time, that services need to significantly improve. While we have seen some improvements over recent months, to achieve the performance levels passengers expect and deserve, and that the northern economy needs, there is a need for a resetting of the operation.

”We will now look forward positively to discussing with our members and working with the government to ensure the best way to achieve a service that meets the expectations of those living and working in the north.”