Philip
On Moderation
Northern aren't exactly flavour of the year with many rail passengers right now for various reasons, but are they really doing a bad job or do people just need something to whip in order to vent their frustrations at the recent problems? Northern are not the mighty all-conquering king of the railway, that title belongs to Virgin, so perhaps it is easier for people to blame Northern?
Northern have invested in new rolling stock which is to their credit, within the costs they can afford to pay. Ordering 2 and 3 coach trains instead of 3 and 4 gives greater flexibility for doubled-up working, because of platform lengths. And it is not their fault that the new trains are suffering teething problems - surely CAF are to blame here? Equally the May 2018 timetable shambles was not the fault of Northern - they simply had to fit around new TPE services, the new poorly thought out infrastructure and their own franchise requirements, which inevitably led to delays and cancellations. The lack of Sunday working is down to traincrew not working their Sunday, which they're entitled not to, and this current arrangement goes back to well before Northern (or even the old Northern) were around. Some of the trains don't have the cleanest of interiors, but you can put some of the blame on the passengers for this, and the mess they create.
Northern have invested in new rolling stock which is to their credit, within the costs they can afford to pay. Ordering 2 and 3 coach trains instead of 3 and 4 gives greater flexibility for doubled-up working, because of platform lengths. And it is not their fault that the new trains are suffering teething problems - surely CAF are to blame here? Equally the May 2018 timetable shambles was not the fault of Northern - they simply had to fit around new TPE services, the new poorly thought out infrastructure and their own franchise requirements, which inevitably led to delays and cancellations. The lack of Sunday working is down to traincrew not working their Sunday, which they're entitled not to, and this current arrangement goes back to well before Northern (or even the old Northern) were around. Some of the trains don't have the cleanest of interiors, but you can put some of the blame on the passengers for this, and the mess they create.
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