Three quarters of the 168 rail services in the north of England suspended in June have been brought back online after a timetable change brought many lines across the country to a halt and enraged many public voices already highly critical of the country's largely privately-run rail system.
A report seen by the British media estimated the financial cost of the cancellations at US$50 million, the majority of which, according to Andy Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, has been borne by passengers in the country's north.
"People's lives are being badly affected by this chaos and the Government cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the plight of Northern commuters," Mr. Burnham said in statements reported by ITV.
More pain for train passengers despite reintroduction of Northern Rail services | Bailiwick Express UK https://t.co/5YTZfAyaHp
— Bailiwick Express UK (@BailiwickUK) July 30, 2018
Northern rail is reinstating most of the services cancelled after new timetable led to severe disruption.#NorthernRail #UK #TrainLife #London https://t.co/EFETHvP5Xm
— Totally Airports (@totallyairports) July 30, 2018
@northernassist disgusting service again from the worst train company in the UK! there is a legal requirement to put replacement bus services on after 2 hours!! Yet I have been told Harrogate isn’t a priority so tough luck!! I’m assuming that you will pay my taxi fair then???
— Jake McLaren (@ScottishJake) July 27, 2018
The United Kingdom's public rail system remained primarily in government hands until the Conservative government of John Major broke the system up into smaller regional franchises that were handed on to private operators.
Continuous public anger over rising fares, over-crowding and the inefficiency of separately run franchises has fed into the electoral platform of the Labour Party, with leader Jeremy Corbyn pledging in the run-up to the 2017 general election that a government under his leadership would bring the British rail-system back under government control as the private operators' franchises expire.
