Answering my own question about a recovery plan, the Manchester Evening News has published the following in the last half hour
https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...rthern-plan-delayed-cancelled-trains-14703864
Selected highlights are
Government bosses have been forced to come up with a ‘recovery plan’ for Northern following hundreds of cancelled and delayed trains.
Driver rostering, training and additional contingency drivers will be introduced as part of the action plan developed by The Rail North Partnership.
Northern has also agreed to put extra services in place at peak times along the Bolton corridor, including between Buckshaw and Manchester Victoria and Preston and Manchester Oxford Road.
The plan, seen by the M.E.N, also included ‘improved communications’ from Northern on Twitter, so customers are kept up to date.
The operator has come under fire after passengers were plunged into travel chaos on the first working day of its new timetable earlier this week.#
The Department for Transport and Transport for the North (TftN) have now intervened and agreed a plan with Northern in a bid to address current ‘performance issues’.
Barry White, chief executive of TftN, says the plan will restore services to acceptable levels of reliability.
“We are extremely disappointed and concerned with the inadequate performance of Northern,” he said.
“We have received a timetable recovery plan from Northern to address these concerns and improve the rail experience for passengers.
“Both Transport for the North and the Department for Transport, through the Rail North Partnership, will be monitoring progress against the plan on a daily basis.”
The Rail North Partnership is also asking the operator to improve early communication of service disruptions to the public.
Speaking at a conference on Thursday, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham apologised if he seemed ‘agitated’ and said ‘his blood pressure was a bit high after coming off a long phone call with the Secretary of State for Transport about Northern’.
“We need much more control over our system,” he said.
“The debacle with Northern Rail tells you that the system is no-where near good enough.
“London got more power over its transport system when the mayor was elected. I believe it is right for Northern cities to say we need the same. We need the ability to oversee and integrate this transport system if it’s going to work for the travelling public.”
The M.E.N. has asked Northern for a comment.
Further down the article are some details of Burnham's conversation with Grayling which is not very well written and could be interpreted in a couple of ways.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...rthern-plan-delayed-cancelled-trains-14703864
Selected highlights are
Government bosses have been forced to come up with a ‘recovery plan’ for Northern following hundreds of cancelled and delayed trains.
Driver rostering, training and additional contingency drivers will be introduced as part of the action plan developed by The Rail North Partnership.
Northern has also agreed to put extra services in place at peak times along the Bolton corridor, including between Buckshaw and Manchester Victoria and Preston and Manchester Oxford Road.
The plan, seen by the M.E.N, also included ‘improved communications’ from Northern on Twitter, so customers are kept up to date.
The operator has come under fire after passengers were plunged into travel chaos on the first working day of its new timetable earlier this week.#
The Department for Transport and Transport for the North (TftN) have now intervened and agreed a plan with Northern in a bid to address current ‘performance issues’.
Barry White, chief executive of TftN, says the plan will restore services to acceptable levels of reliability.
“We are extremely disappointed and concerned with the inadequate performance of Northern,” he said.
“We have received a timetable recovery plan from Northern to address these concerns and improve the rail experience for passengers.
“Both Transport for the North and the Department for Transport, through the Rail North Partnership, will be monitoring progress against the plan on a daily basis.”
The Rail North Partnership is also asking the operator to improve early communication of service disruptions to the public.
Speaking at a conference on Thursday, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham apologised if he seemed ‘agitated’ and said ‘his blood pressure was a bit high after coming off a long phone call with the Secretary of State for Transport about Northern’.
“We need much more control over our system,” he said.
“The debacle with Northern Rail tells you that the system is no-where near good enough.
“London got more power over its transport system when the mayor was elected. I believe it is right for Northern cities to say we need the same. We need the ability to oversee and integrate this transport system if it’s going to work for the travelling public.”
The M.E.N. has asked Northern for a comment.
Further down the article are some details of Burnham's conversation with Grayling which is not very well written and could be interpreted in a couple of ways.
I mean, if they're that desperate I'll give it a bash if they ask me nicely! 
