What can we do about Northern Rail?

[My login is Henrietta]

I was listening to a programme on the radio about businesses and how they respond to complaints and the best way to complain is via Twitter.  Apparently the companies don't like the complaints to be in the public domain so usually sort them out quickly.  It's worth a try.

Excellent idea.

[Deniseam]

I was listening to a programme on the radio about businesses and how they respond to complaints and the best way to complain is via Twitter.  Apparently the companies don't like the complaints to be in the public domain so usually sort them out quickly.  It's worth a try.

[My login is Henrietta]

I'm sure I'm not the only person in Marple who is getting sick and tired of the poor rail service we get in Manchester. The 142 pacers in service at the minute are dirty, slow, unreliable and above all... Dangerous! The trains are constantly packed to the point where sometimes you can't physically get on the train to get home! I'm sure I'm not the only one that gets really frustrated with this bad service we are getting, but I'm stuck on what I can do to make it better? I could email northern rail, but really... What good would that do! I've thought about writing to my MP but I don't know if it's just a drop in the ocean. I'm really coming to the end of my tether with northern rail, for someone who commutes to rochdale daily, train is the only way to commute. With a ticket that's supposed to cost £4.20 costing a staggering £10.00 during peak times in the evening. Where on earth is this extra money going? And how is it justifiable paying over 100% extra for a peak time train that is late, cancelled or packed!

Anyone with stories about northern rail and the issues I've highlighted or any ideas on how to combat the issue, please respond! Thanks.

"I've thought about writing to my MP" Well, it would be a start.

I'm fortunate in not needing to use this service very often these days but when I do I feel very sorry for the regular users. Is there any future in trying to organise the users you see regularly to "bomb" the MP(s) with letters and emails and attendance at surgeries? Likewise, mass letters of complaint to the body which is supposed to have influence and control over the service providers with copies sent to the service providers?

On your own, you're a drop in the ocean but if lots of people get involved you make a flood.

I've found on other campaigns in the past that the knack is to make it harder for "them" to ignore you than it is to do something about it. I hope you get some constructive suggestions from others on here.

[Harry]

I don't travel regularly but I was a bit shocked when the peak return fair to Picadilly went from 3.90 (and 3.80 the year before) to over £6 a few months ago !

Its a long time since a peak fare was under £4. A year ago the peak fare was £6.10 return, with the off peak at £3.70. I consider this good value when it also includes city centre metro use.

[Howard]

Northern Rail are an utter joke and widely known as the worst and most heavily subsidised rail company in the UK. Their rolling stock is appalling, especially the Pacers introduced in 1984. Its expected lifespan in the UK was 14 years and WE'RE STILL USING VARIATIONS OF THEM.

At the end of their career with British Rail, most members of the class were sold to Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and were exported during the early 2000s. Those trains have since been withdrawn and replaced by new trains. Here's the current state of them in Iran.



If Iran can get rid of them then why can't Northern Rail?

[jragain]

I don't travel regularly but I was a bit shocked when the peak return fair to Picadilly went from 3.90 (and 3.80 the year before) to over £6 a few months ago !

[Dave]

Where on earth is this extra money going?

It's going into the well-lined pockets of the Northern Rail's franchise holders for the past ten years, Serco and Abellio.  Serco, of course, is the notorious UK outsourcing company, which has an appalling history of failures, fraud, errors and overcharging.  Abellio is owned by the Dutch state rail company, Nederlandse Spoorwagen, so the profits they make from overcharging us go into the pockets of the Dutch government and therefore, indirectly, into the pockets of Dutch taxpayers. 

Northern Rail is the most highly subsidised railway company in the UK, and it must also be one of the worst - certainly if you judge it by the quality of its rolling stock. 

To answer Golfball's question directly, yes, I think it is always worth writing to one's MP about this kind of issue.  That said, there does at last seem to be a very belated recognition among our politicians that something needs to be done about the Class 142 trains.  I even heard Nick Clegg say so on the radio the other day.  There must be an election coming up .......

Astonishingly, considering the appalling quality of its service, the existing Northern Rail franchise was extended last year, until Feb 2016.  Three companies have been shortlisted to bid for the new franchise: Arriva, Govia, and Abellio (but not Serco, of course).  As Arriva is owned by Deutsche Bahn, there is therefore a two-to-one chance that our local rail services will be returned to public ownership.  Foreign public ownership, that is!   

[hollins]

You are not the only person who is is tired of the rail service. The worst problem by far is the gross overcrowding of commuter-time trains, particularly when Northern Rail consistently send in two-carriage trains when there are people standing all the way to or from Marple. There are also some crass platform-assignment decisions at Manchester Piccadilly and some ludicrous time-wasting episodes. (e.g. Why do we all have to get off a 4-carriage train whilst it is split in two - two problems, why are you reducing a 4-carriage train to an overcrowded 2-carriage one, and why can't we just stay seated whilst you move trains forward 6 inches.)

Although most of the ticket staff at Marple Station are really decent and polite, there are also some real jobs-worth decisions made there: why, exactly, can't they open more doors through and around the ticket office?

[Golfballbazooka]

I'm sure I'm not the only person in Marple who is getting sick and tired of the poor rail service we get in Manchester. The 142 pacers in service at the minute are dirty, slow, unreliable and above all... Dangerous! The trains are constantly packed to the point where sometimes you can't physically get on the train to get home! I'm sure I'm not the only one that gets really frustrated with this bad service we are getting, but I'm stuck on what I can do to make it better? I could email northern rail, but really... What good would that do! I've thought about writing to my MP but I don't know if it's just a drop in the ocean. I'm really coming to the end of my tether with northern rail, for someone who commutes to rochdale daily, train is the only way to commute. With a ticket that's supposed to cost £4.20 costing a staggering £10.00 during peak times in the evening. Where on earth is this extra money going? And how is it justifiable paying over 100% extra for a peak time train that is late, cancelled or packed!

Anyone with stories about northern rail and the issues I've highlighted or any ideas on how to combat the issue, please respond! Thanks.