Northern has responded to 'abusive and threatening' messages on social media following two days of major disruption to train services across the north west. The rail operator reported the user to authorities, urging passengers to 'be kind'.
Passengers faced major disruption for a second day running today (August 7), with services across Greater Manchester cancelled and delayed. Issues first began on Thursday, but have since been resolved.
Widespread impact
The disruption affected multiple operators, including Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express, and Transport for Wales.
Northern has been updating passengers through its social channels. In an update published tonight, it called out an abusive comment received during the disruption.
Abusive message exposed
The complaint read: "Poppleton train, your trains are so s*** they can't even store oil on the engines. I'm simply trying to get to work and you f*** my entire morning up."
It continued: "F*** you all you bunch of f***ing rats. You're lucky I don't know where any of you live."
In a response posted onto X, Northern said: "We understand that disruption on the railway can be frustrating and we will always do all that we can to help every customer that comes to us - unless they talk to us like this. This will not be tolerated and is not acceptable. Treat others with kindness and respect, you will see that people are much happier to help. This is abusive and threatening. You have been reported. #bekind"
Mayor's response
Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig has issued an update, announcing an independent inquiry into 'all aspects of the incident and how it was handled' will be fast-tracked.
She 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. 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."
