Cllr Judith Blake responds to Transport Secretary's comments

25 June 2018

Responding to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling's suggestion that it is not his role to overrule the rail industry, Cllr Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Combined Authority representative on the Transport for the North board, said:

"If it is not the Transport Secretary's job to intervene to stop decisions which damage the interests of passengers being taken by the rail industry, whose is it? The responsibility for oversight is emerging as one of the central issues my review into the rail disruption must address.

"From what we already know about the disastrous introduction of the new timetable it is clear that we need to ensure there is a strong democratic and passenger voice when such decisions are taken in future."

Cllr Judith Blake is Leader of Leeds City Council and represents the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on the Transport for the North board. Cllr Blake is leading a review of the rail disruption which will report its findings to Rail Minister Jo Johnson.