Recent content by Jimmy Foster

I think there’s a real danger this does indeed go on for a long time. The government aren’t going to shift an inch until we have a new PM and that’s 2 months away or near enough. Being robust with the RMT is playing out well with traditional Tory voters so the only problem is the cost of the...

I see RMT have recommended their members do not accept the ScotRail pay offer - do we think that will have much impact on services?

That’s nowhere near a third of front line staff. I have no problem with RMT rejecting the offer but this claim and the one about giving senior staff a 40% pay rise (or whatever it says) are somewhere between disingenuous and outright lies. That sort of misrepresentation can heavily influence...

Average TOC profit was under 3% even before the current crisis. So, anything more than a 3% reduction in passenger numbers means they all become loss-making and that means that whoever operates them, even if it is government directly, has to fundamentally re-assess the economics of running the...

This does sound like real sloppiness and someone clearly didn't do what they should have - the team got so, so lucky. You don't hear too much about people being sacked by Network Rail for safety related failure these days, I wonder what happened with this one. I don't advocate more sackings but...

Good news - wonder how much ASLEF pumped Northern for?!

n Clearly you have a strong dislike of the operator but this is a comment borne out of that hatred and thus devoid of common sense. Any TOC in Northern's position would be delighted to have the franchise 'stripped' at this stage as DfT, who have already stated that the issues they currently...

Only passing on what I've heard but I imagine she is responsible for failing to have enough drivers at them depots (if that is indeed a proven reason for the issues) and for failing to have a proper plan in place for driver training that doesn't rely on RDW.

Yes that was it - Sharon Keith

I was told by a source over a week ago that the problems Northern are facing at the moment are all spreading from the coastal depots in land and that bosses are unhappy with how those depots have been managed - I guess that is Blackpool and Liverpool? The majority of cancellations do seeem to be...

very strange - their Communications Director is having a mare if he/she thinks this is a sensible approach.

Completely agree with this - some of the abuse that northernassist and their managers get is beyond disgusting which must make their job extremely unpleasant. I don't see much disagreement with the Northern approach of blocking abusive people but I also support their right to do their job...

They are certainly doing that! It's weird how the industry doesn't seem to defend itself, I have never understood that. Is anyone from Northern actually stepping up to explain what's happened? I haven't seen much from them at all since Monday (though there was some good info at my station and...

Spot on - chronic underinvestment over 2 decades or more is the key underlying issue here. Finally the government are doing something about it but it won't be enough to reverse all these problems in the short term. I think the North is just going to have to accept it's going to be rubbish on the...

As if they're gonna criticise the DfT when they rely on them to get the next franchise ... if they want one after Northern!!!