From Yorkshire Post, May 30th, 2018
Written by Arj Singh

The rail industry has "collectively failed" Northern passengers who suffered delays, cancellations and chaos when new timetables were introduced last week, the Transport Secretary has said. Chris Grayling said in a letter to the region's MPs that the level of disruption on Northern rail last week was "wholly unsatisfactory" and the scale of the chaos "far outstripped any expectation". But Labour MPs criticised him for not repeating his apology for the botched introduction of new timetables, accusing him of "passing the buck". In his letter, the Transport Secretary wrote: "I am frustrated that what should have been good news for passengers, with the introduction of new services, new routes and expanded capacity has had such a poor start. "The industry collectively has failed the passengers it serves. A combination of delayed Network Rail infrastructure works and reduced planning time meant that the new timetable was finalised much too late to permit adequate logistical planning for the timetable changes."

• Transport

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