Under-fire train operator TransPennine Express should be placed on a 'six-month probation period' before 'any suggestion' of the renewal of its contract next May, northern mayors including Andy Burnham have said.
And in a collective statement - spanning Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire and the north east - the Labour mayors called for an 'urgent meeting' with transport ministers, saying they believe 'action would already have been taken' if the recent chaos on the region's rail networks had been 'in other parts of the country'.
The mayors listed a series of demands on Government - including for more funding - after what they called the 'shambles' of rail services 'inflicting misery on millions of people' across the north west and Greater Manchester.
