Cllr Blake responds to ORR report

26 September 2018

Responding to the Office of Rail and Road report into the May rail timetable disruption, Cllr Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council and member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, said:

"This report confirms what I have been saying since the disruption began that the industry placed its own concerns ahead of serving its passengers. This is a systemic problem, not an isolated case.

"While this summer's disruption was an extreme example, rail passengers across the North have long endured service characterised by delays and trains with too few carriages leaving people on platforms. The management of track and trains and the historic underinvestment in infrastructure all play a part.

"We need to create a rail system for the North of England, accountable to the North, which puts passengers first and that is what my review with the Rail Minister will address."

Cllr Blake is leading a review into the rail disruption following the May timetable change with Rail Minister Jo Johnson.