Train users in south yorkshire urged to moan about the train services

Day of moaning declared in north of England over train woes

Commuters urged to flood TV and radio phone-ins after transport secretary’s cancellation of rail electrification upgrades in the north

A day of moaning has been declared across the north of England, with public transport users encouraged to let rip about their terrible journeys.

Commuters are urged to write to their MPs and flood radio and TV phone-ins on Monday to express their frustration with the region’s poor transport provision.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/21/day-of-moaning-declared-in-north-of-england-transport-rail-electrification

Why flood local news, radio and MP's?

Flood the transport secretary with letters, he's the sod who pulls funding from the North to spend more in London.

They'll have CrossRail 27 before they bother to spend any more up here.

Send him or one of his minions on the 0911 to Manchester. Northern Powerhouse my arse!

End the franchises at the earliest opportunity.

Send him or one of his minions on the 0911 to Manchester. Northern Powerhouse my arse!

End the franchises at the earliest opportunity.

If you mean the current franchises, neither Northern, EMT nor TPE who operate trains to Manchester are allowed to buy new carriages or new trains for the route. The Government in London decide who gets new trains and who gets which cast offs. The Government in London sets the routes and level of service.

If you mean the franchise system, again it is the Government in London who sets the rules and decides.

Have your say now about the new EMT franchise here

Send him or one of his minions on the 0911 to Manchester. Northern Powerhouse my arse!

End the franchises at the earliest opportunity.

I always thought the Northern Power House ended at Watford Gap.

A day of moaning in South Yorkshire? ....Never!

A day of moaning in South Yorkshire? ....Never!

A morning of moaning, then?

If the North, like Scotland, Wales, Guernsey etc ran our own affairs or had its own political assembly i'm sure the transport infrastructure etc within the North would be far better than it currently is..

If the North, like Scotland, Wales, Guernsey etc ran our own affairs or had its own political assembly i'm sure the transport infrastructure etc within the North would be far better than it currently is..

Im not convinced.

Firstly, comparing separate countries with devolved governments with a regional assembly are very different things.

Also, even if such change was to occur I am not even sure that it would be "far better" for the transport situation.

Let me take a recent example of Wales, which despite its own powers and own say in its transport infrastructure they are still suffering from shoddy rail links mainly run by the gloriously incompetent Worst Great Western and the marginally less incompetent Arriva Trains Wales (...for those who can remember back that far, Arriva were also equally as appauling when they were in charge of our own Northern Rail Services).

Wales still has plenty of poor mainly diesel trains, bone shaking pacers and rediculously slow journey times. For example I had the misfortune of having to travel between Manchester and Swansea which even in peak commuting times lumbered me with a single route option which took nearly 4 and a haf hours to cover a distance of around just 186 miles.

Whilst anyone will give allowances for a reasonable number of station stops, an average speed of 40 mph on what is supposed to be an intercity rail service is just embarrassing.

Scotland too, certainly up until the last franchise change also suffered a multitude of delays, breakdowns, cancellations, closed routes and bus replacement services.

Ultimately, it might seem like local control over local issues would be of benefit but I would really not be hoping for any dramatic change. London will always, in reality, be holding the purse strings and dramatic changes to Railway Services and/or their franchise overlords dont disappear easily.

If the North, like Scotland, Wales, Guernsey etc ran our own affairs or had its own political assembly i'm sure the transport infrastructure etc within the North would be far better than it currently is..

I would hope we'd have better transport infrastructure than Scotland and Wales - both are pretty awful.

Now the French would have had a dual carriageway across the Woodhead donkeys years ago. A few acres of moorland for grouse shooting would hardly be missed.

There is no excuse for local train travelers around Sheffield to still use ancient trains.

I know because when I visit friends and family on continent I see the difference, it is a big difference, shocking.

Im not convinced.

 

Firstly, comparing separate countries with devolved governments with a regional assembly are very different things.

........

 

Not at all.. they too are regions of the uk albeit much smaller than the North.Ideally these Rail companies should be fully Nationalised..

Scotland is in a better state than it was from direct rule from westminster.. why shouldnt the North be??

The North is treat like a cash cow when it suits westminster and thrown on the scrap heap when it doesnt.

Localised govt across Western Europe not the superstate centralized ala eu etc neoliberal governance is the future.