Northern leaders have been invited to meet with the Transport Secretary over train cancellations after they called for the 'chaos' on the railways to be treated as an emergency. Regional mayors, including mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, said the Government should 'haul operators to the table to sort out this mess'.
Following an urgent meeting held on Thursday, five Labour mayors issued a stinging statement and listed three demands on Government, including placing under-fire train operator TransPennine Express on a 'six-month probation period' before 'any suggestion' of the renewal of its contract next May.
Figures from the operator's website show 60 trains were cancelled across the north and Greater Manchester on Wednesday this week, with 52 cancelled on Thursday. The figures for today - Friday - show 53 services have been cancelled, with many more altered.
