Northern rail services totally unacceptable, says Downing Street
The situation faced by passengers using Northern rail services is totally unacceptable, Downing Street has said.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is expected to make a statement to MPs later as cancellations and delays continued despite the introduction of temporary timetables designed to halt the disruption.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We have tremendous sympathy with everyone who has had their rail journey delayed or disrupted.
"What we have seen had been totally unacceptable."
Northern launched an eight-week interim timetable on Monday, removing 165 trains - 6% of services.
Areas affected include Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and the Lakes Line between Oxenholme and Windermere.
? TRAVEL UPDATE ? From Monday 4 June until the end of July, we are introducing temporary timetables in some areas to enable us to return to a reliable level of service. Details can be found here ? https://t.co/wi3vCY46typic.twitter.com/QT89vlriZB
-- Northern (@northernassist) June 1, 2018
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) - which consists of Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express - is also running a temporary timetable enabling passengers to "arrange their journeys with greater confidence".
