The seeds of Northern's demise were sown well before Grant Shapps made his announcement. The destruction of the North's rail services was assured when the Department for Transport put out the original franchise on a 'no growth' basis. Since then, all the franchise holders have fought a rearguard catch-up action - ably aided by Network Rail (which has failed to provide the infrastructure to support the planned timetable) and the DfT (which has refused to allow the franchise holders to put together a realistic plan).
展开▼
