Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig has fast-tracked an independent inquiry into the widespread train disruption that hit the region for a second day, saying passengers were 'badly let down'.
Inquiry announced after two days of chaos
Ms Craig said she has spoken with the rail minister and Network Rail, who have agreed to fast-track an independent inquiry into 'all aspects of the incident and how it was handled'. The disruption, which began on Thursday, affected services across the network for a second day on Friday, August 7.
The issues have since been resolved, but the impact was widespread, hitting Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales.
Mayor's statement
In a statement published today, Ms Craig said: "Yesterday's rail disruption impacted thousands on people and businesses across Greater Manchester - passengers were badly let down and it can't happen again."
She added: "I've today spoken with both the rail minister and Network Rail. They are going to fast-track an independent inquiry into all aspects of the incident and how it was handled. I understand that unexpected incidents can happen. But I've made clear that - in such events - there needs to be robust plans in place to keep trains running, and a better approach to supporting passengers get to where they need to go."
Cause of the disruption
The disruption first started on Thursday due to an electricity supply failure at a communications centre. The outage occurred shortly before 2pm in Manchester and impacted signalling. The power failure was at Manchester Rail Operating Centre, near Ashburys station, according to the city's Bee Network. CrossCountry Trains and Transport for Wales reported a signalling system fault at Manchester Piccadilly station had halted services.
In a statement last night, Ms Craig said: "I know so many people are facing disrupted train journeys tonight. This afternoon there was a power outage to Network Rail's control centre, causing widespread disruption right across the rail network in Greater Manchester, the North West and the Midlands."
She noted that passengers were allowed to use their train tickets on every Bee Network bus and tram in the city region to help people get home. She said the focus needed to be on getting trains back up and running as soon as possible, but she would also be asking Network Rail and train operating companies for an investigation into the cause and their response, adding: "We need assurances that this cannot and will not happen again."
