Northern Rail

Hi spencercat,

welcome aboard and thanks for posting. It's infuriating how NR seem to think they can get away with treating fare paying passengers this way.

I noticed that you said that until recently you were satisfied - have things just got worse recently?

Since the change of the 17.13 from Leeds to Hebden Bridge to Leeds to Manchester Victoria, the overcrowing has been ridiculous.  The train has about twice as many people getting on at Leeds as it did when it was only going to Hebden Bridge.  There are only ever 3 carriages maximum and sometimes just 2.  I have lost count of the amount of times I have been left on the platform to wait for the next train and last night, even the 5.43 left people on the platform!

In the 5 years I have been travelling this route, I have seen big increases in fares and absolutely no improvement in the service, if anything it has got worse

Paul Rowen, Rochdale MP, has commented on overcrowding on Rochdale trains and unfortunately I agree with him.

Until last week, I was a very satisfied loop commuter, but I am now DRIVING to Smithy Bridge to travel to Manchester.  I am doing this because I find that the bus service to Rochdale station is inadequate as it is not timed with the trains, and even if it was, what is the point of travelling to Rochdale when there is a strong chance of not being able to fit on a train?

I have travelled for 2 days on the Leeds-Rochdale line from Smithy Bridge.  I have not been able to get a seat and I have seen people left behind at platforms.

For example, tonight's 1700 Mcr to Leeds consisted of 2 small carriages with a maximum of 85 seats.  There were at least that many standing and people were stood in the toilets which stank.  Passengers are treated worse than cattle, with no regard to health and safety and have to pay for the privelige.

My husband today caught the 15.51 Selby train which had 3 carriages and very few passengers.  He tells me that frequently throughout the day trains have 3 carriages and are empty.  WHY CAN'T NORTHERN RAIL PROVIDE EXTRA CARRIAGES FOR PEAK TRAINS IF THEY CAN PROVIDE THEM DURING THE DAY?!

If the situation continues as it is there will be another car on a regular commute to Manchester.

Hi Hayley,

hmm - i don't think the reason for the high fare is that it covers maintenance of the tunnel. My understanding is that it's simply a section of the line that falls between the sections subsidised by the authorities on either side of the Pennines.

If revenue was the problem, then a simple solution would be for Northern Rail to begin collecting fares on their services at weekends and between the Greenfield and Manchester Victoria stops at peak commuter times, but that subject should have a post all of it's own 

I totally agree. It is a ridiculous amount of money but unfortunately, someone has to pay for the upkeep of the tunnel!

Hayley

the £4.80 fare for this 5.7mile rail journey is almost 3 times the rate charged for the longer 10 mile journey from Greenfield to Victoria

I recently left a post regarding the cancelled 16:08 train from Salford Crescent to Blackburn, as if this cancelled service was not enough, on my return journey home, I got as far as Preston and found that the 17:04 train service had been cancelled, due to power failure.
This is the 2nd train in less than a week that had been cancelled.
I was informed by staff at Preston that I would need to get the 16:58 Virgin train to Euston as far as Wigan North Western, and from there there would be a rail replacement service to ST Helens Central, and from there get a train to Lime Street. I managed to escape the change at St Helens as the rail replacement was running all the way to Lime Street.
But two cancelled trains within 3 days. This is not what I call good service.

I was recently travelling from the wirral to Accrington, lancs and had to change trains at Salford Crescent.
On Sunday 26th July 2009 when I got to Salford Crescent I learnt that the 16:08 train was cancelled.
There was no reason given, further to that it was a full hour before the next train was due.
Salford Crescent has an enclosed waiting area, but the seats are old wooden benches which are very uncomfortable when you're sitting for over an hour.  Plus the station has no cafe in order to get a hot drink, and to make matters worse, there's only 1 toilet which is locked and staff do not have a key for.
The weather was cold, wet and windy as it often is here in the UK, and I was told that I could get the train to Bolton as they have a cafe there, but then I was told the cafe was closed.
Why is it so diificult to travel on a sunday?
So I spent a long cold and uncomfortable hour hoping that the next train would actually arrive, which it did luckily for me.

No driver apparently. It pulled out just as the 19:22 was entering the station.

This is the first stage of my daily commute to Darlington so the cancellation is pretty disasterous.

No explanation given.