NORTHERN will be stripped of its franchise, the Transport Secretary said today. 

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, Grant Shapps said: "It's completely unacceptable to have a have a situation where trains almost routinely don't run to a routine, don't run on time.

RELATED: 

"I simply will not put up with that and I've already kicked off that process and I'll be saying more about it very soon.

"I will absolutely bring that situation to an end."

He was pressed further by BBC presenter Charlie Stayt, who asked: "Are you saying that your intention as Transport Secretary is to remove the franchise from Northern Rail?"

Mr Shapps replied: "That's right. In the autumn I wrote to the necessary parties in this with what called a 'request for proposal'.

"That's simply where you say 'look I'm going to take action'.

"There are a couple of ways that can go, one is to strip the franchise.

"One is to have a short-term contract, but yes, exactly as you've said, I'm simply not prepared for the service in Northern to carry on as it is and I'm taking action."

He also told the PA news agency that “frustrated commuters will not have to wait long” before action is taken. 

The chaotic introduction of new timetables in May 2018 saw up to 310 Northern trains a day cancelled, and punctuality and reliability problems continue to blight the network.

Office of Rail and Road figures show just 55.6% of Northern trains arrived at stations within one minute of the timetable in the 12 months to December 7, compared with the average across Britain of 65.3%.

German-based Arriva holds the Northern franchise, which is due to run until March 2025.

Mr Shapps described services on the route as “really bad” and claimed passengers have “had a nightmare on that line” since 2016.

Asked if Northern will be stripped of its franchise, he replied: “The simple answer to the question is yes, it is going to be brought to an end.

“It’s partially a legal process but frustrated commuters will not have to wait long.”

But Department for Transport officials later clarified that Northern could continue to operate services through a new, short-term contract.

The other option being considered is nationalising services by putting the Government-controlled Operator of Last Resort (OLR) in charge.

This is what happened on the east coast route in June 2018 following the failure of the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise.

German-based Arriva holds the Northern franchise, which was due to run until March 2025.

Mr Shapps made the comments on the day fares are being hiked by an average of 2.7 per cent. 

David Brown, Managing Director at Northern, said: “It’s on record that the Northern franchise has faced several material and unprecedented challenges in the past couple of years, outside the direct control of Northern. The most significant of these is the ongoing, late delivery of major infrastructure upgrades.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Transport Secretary Grant ShappsTransport Secretary Grant Shapps

“The North West electrification was more than two years late, which meant we could not use electric trains on that route or cascade diesel trains from that route to run more services elsewhere on our network.

"More recently, new and longer platforms at Leeds stations are delayed, which means we have had to postpone our plans to run longer trains.

“These factors – alongside the damage caused by strike action and lower than expected economic growth – have had a significant effect on the revenue expected in our original franchise business plan agreed with government back in 2015.

“That’s why the Government has asked us to prepare a business plan for a shorter ‘Direct Award’ which will see the completion of our transformation programme.”

He added: “Arriva and Northern remain fully committed to delivering the transformation of the North’s railways and improving customers’ experience. We are delivering the biggest transformation of local rail for a generation, with 52 of our 101 new trains in service and driver training taking place on dozens more trains right now. Alongside 2,000 extra services per week, this is part of a £600 million investment in improving customers’ experience; we are continuing to invest in better stations, better offers forcustomers and more recruitment.

“These discussions have no impact on rail services for customers. Our job is to continue to provide the best service possible for our customers whilst any discussions are taking place.”