The government has announced a complete takeover of train services run by operator TransPennine Express after months of "continuous cancellations".
In a statement, Transport Secretary Mark Harper partially blamed the decision on the train driver's union ASLEF, which rejected a "risable" 4% pay offer last month as it was not in-line with current inflation levels, reports the Mirror.
He said: "In my time as Transport Secretary, I have been clear that passenger experience must always come first.
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"After months of commuters and northern businesses bearing the brunt of continuous cancellations, I've made the decision to bring TransPennine Express into Operator of Last Resort.
"This is not a silver bullet and will not instantaneously fix a number of challenges being faced, including ASLEF's actions which are preventing TransPennine Express from being able to run a full service - once again highlighting why it's so important that the railways move to a seven-day working week.
"We have played our part but ASLEF now need to play theirs by calling off strikes and the rest day working ban, putting the very fair and reasonable pay offer to a democratic vote of their members."
ASLEF members announced three days of strike action following its decision to reject the 4% offer: Friday May 12, Wednesday May 31, and Saturday June 3.
Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: "We do not want to go on strike – we do not want to inconvenience passengers, we have families and friends who use the railway, too, and we believe in investing in rail for the future of this country – but the blame for this action lies, fairly and squarely, at the feet of the employers who have forced our hand over this by their intransigence.
"It is now up to them to come up with a more sensible, and realistic, offer and we ask the government not to hinder this process."
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