How to turn Northern into Great Railway Journey - Tom Richmond

Yet the only discernible difference, for now, will be Transport Secretary Grant Shapps – rather than failed private sector operator Arriva – being answerable and accountable to commuters.

It’s a start. As Mr Shapps concedes, change will not happen overnight and years of declining performance and reliability will continue to be compromised by Network Rail’s failure to upgrade the trade infrastructure on time.

But, as Mr Shapps tasks the DfT’s management team with delivering a 100-day action plan in conjunction with the whole industry, it is also going to require massive cultural change to get services here remotely back on track.

First impressions matter and a motivated frontline workforce will be critical to changing passenger perceptions about, arguably, the UK’s worst performing rail franchise.

Take last week when I made the mistake of catching an early morning train into Leeds. Even though the trains were running, albeit late, the ticket machine was faulty and you needed the ice skating prowess of Torvill and Dean because the entrance, steps and platforms had not been gritted.

And when the ticket office belatedly began to open with no punctiliousness, or urgency, there were just mumbles – and a resigned shrug of the shoulder. “Not my problem,” muttered the Northern official.

Sorry, it is. Just like the blue and white branding – and antiquated Pacer trains – all staff, including those senior managers responsible for so much misery, transfer to the new public holding company, Northern Trains Ltd, and now need to raise their game as ambassadors for their company and county.

Here Mr Shapps, a politician whose upfront approach and genuine desire to tackle overcrowding contrasts with the obfuscation and buck-passing of his predecessor Chris Grayling, needs to get staff on board, to use railway parlance, for the journey ahead.

Make sure he – and his entourage – travel by Northern at every opportunity and have a supply of rewards, say gift vouchers, that can be handed out when they witness outstanding customer service.

If the train is spotless – and the Minister has cited cleanliness as a priority – make sure the cleaners and others are recognised. They, too, are part of the Northern team.

Remind Ministers to do the same. Tell them that he expects them to travel by train on every visit to the North – including Boris Johnson – and that he will want feedback on what works – and does not.

Ask MPs to do likewise – they all have Parliamentary travel passes – and promise to find time, say once a week after PMQs, to hear sensible suggestions, and details of Northern staff, going beyond the call of duty so they can be sent letters of thanks. Every little helps, as they say.

Pick up the phone to Michael Portillo – the Minister who saved the iconic Settle to Carlisle line now presents Great Railway Journeys on the BBC – and ask him to spend time up here observing, watching and listening. His critique would be insightful as the Bradshaw’s Guide that he always takes with him on the train. Promise a bright blue blazer, to add to his wardrobe of colourful jackets, if that helps.

Prioritise face-to-face meetings with frontline staff – they probably know more about running a railway than many of the very expensive executives who let so many passengers down for so long. They just need to be heard and valued.

And communication is also critical. If a train is going to be late or cancelled, and this will still happen, advise Northern staff try and say sorry with a sympathetic smile – and the truth. It’s far more likely to placate passengers than many of the excuses, I’d go as far and say ‘lies’, offered in the recent past.

But it also requires the rail unions to play their part. Long-running industrial action led to the near-collapse of Sunday services and this change of management affords all sides a fresh start.

As Grant Shapps writes in today’s newspaper, there is “no magic cure” but marginal improvements, put together, can make a lasting difference.

And the ultimate test is this. For Northern rail to become such a trailblazer that the aforementioned Michael Portillo is back – with a camera crew – in five years’ time, sooner if possible, to make a new documentary about the region’s great railway journey, operator and staff.

A big ask, but it must be done if the Northern Powerhouse is to be defined by the quality of its publicly-run rail services, and the welcome offered to passengers, rather than the clapped-out Pacer trains which still symbolise the North-South divide.

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Tom Richmond is Comment Editor of The Yorkshire Post. Follow him on Twitter via OpinionYP.