UK

Northern slammed as 'unreliable' as bosses admit they use FAX MACHINES

9800 BAUD!

Paul Britton
Wed 30 October 2024 

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Under-fire rail operator Northern was today accused of showing 'disregard to the travelling public' over its recent level of performance - as bosses admitted fax machines are still being used to communicate with staff.

Northern's chief operating officer, Matt Rice, said the 'tools' used to get messaging and information out to its train crews rely on fax machines.


The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said in response the north 'needs better than an unreliable, fax-driven railway in 2024'.

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The remarkable exchanges played out after Northern bosses were summoned to attend an emergency meeting of the Rail North Committee, which advises the board of Transport for the North on rail services, infrastructure improvements and all matters relating rail franchises and contract management.

Mr Burnham, who said 155 Northern trains were cancelled across Greater Manchester and the north on Wednesday morning, last week called Northern a 'part-time rail service' over its levels of recent cancellations.

The operator has been told to draw up a new improvement plan -Credit:IYA

Northern was issued with a 'breach notice' for unacceptable levels of performance in July 2024, the meeting heard. The 'contractual breach performance level' on cancellations by an operator is 7 per cent of services. But in Northern's case, from April 28 to July 20, levels of cancellations topped 10 per cent.

The notice required Northern to develop a formal action plan to drive-up its services, which was due to be presented to rail authorities this week. But after the meeting, Mr Burnham, who chairs the committee, told Northern to 'go back and interrogate every aspect of that plan' and draw up a new one.

Mr Burnham asked how it could 'possibly be the case in 2024' that fax machines were still being used.

"People will ask after decades of privatisation, where has the money gone?" he said.

"Where has the money gone in the rail industry given that we are still using 1980s technology to communicate. The north needs better better than an unreliable, fax-driven railway in 2024."

COO Mr Rice said: "It is our challenge to get rid of them - it's in our plans to get rid of them. The tools we use to get messaging and information to our crew rely on faxes, amazingly. We will get there before we are forced to because fax technology, in telecoms terms, turns off."

Andy Burnham -Credit:Getty Images

"People will say, how come we have had three decades of privatisation when money was being poured into the railway and you are still communicating by fax machines in 2024?" added the mayor.

Mr Rice responded: "I think it's a very fair question. Our job is to get rid of them. Our job is to unleash the full potential of emerging technology."

But Mr Burnham said it showed to him that Northern's modernisation plan, like its training plan, was moving 'nowhere near fast enough'. He said: "You could get rid of this stuff tomorrow and put in place IT to support means to communicate differently and I don't understand why you are not doing that - hence we get the late cancellations on a Friday evening.

"If you had speeded up the process, surely we should be able to get earlier notice to the public. So it just looks like a disregard to the travelling public. The railway industry will get round to it when it gets round to it - when the faxes arrive. That's how it will come over."

Managing director Tricia Williams said Northern wouldn't be able to get rid of the fax machines 'tomorrow' without agreement from trade unions - a claim queried by councillors on the committee.

She said: "We have to look at these issues with the depth and complexity they have and the historical issues that we absolutely are going to address. It isn't as simple as turning them off tomorrow because at the moment we have an agreement to use the processes that we have and in order to change that, we do have to change the agreement."

Both Northern bosses apologised for the recent levels of performance, admitting the 'service is not where we want it to be'. They said they were 'acutely aware' of the impact on commuters and pointed to 'historic and complex issues'.

There's a long-standing issue of Sundays not being in the working week in the region. As a result, Northern has been cancelling services in advance ahead of each Sunday. Northern also doesn't have a Rest Day Working (RDW) agreement in place, where train crew can volunteer to work their rest days.

Manchester Victoria -Credit:Adam Vaughan

Levels of staff sickness are also said to be 'significantly higher than pre-Covid levels' and some trains are being cancelled because of double the normal levels of outstanding training for train crew.

Northern, however, was also blasted for issuing 'do not travel' notices on Sundays without having replacement buses in place.

Mr Burnham proposed to make representations to the Government and the Treasury to get a rest day working agreement in place and get a plan for Sundays in place. He said it was of 'critical importance' in the run up to Christmas.

He said the patience of the public was 'wearing very thin or has gone altogether' - a fact he said has meant more people are opting to drive rather than try to take a train.

"In short, we need a new plan from you, and it needs to be much better than what we have seen so far," he told Northern.

"We do ask you to go back and interrogate every aspect of that plan and make sure that what you return to us is the very best that you can do for people who have struggled with an under-performing Northern railway for quite a series amount of time."

A further meeting will be held on November.