P.AA North East mayor says she wants to join other regional leaders in running rail company Northern Trains.
Kim McGuinness said she and other mayors would explore their options under government plans to give more powers to local leaders.
North Admitted that his service was not good enough. It followed the cancellation of 1,000 jobs during the October 2024 half-term, but said it was committed to working with elected mayors.
The Department for Transport (DfT), which owns the rail operator through a holding company, said: “Northern’s performance is completely unacceptable, and it is on a detailed improvement plan.”
gave English Devolution White PaperAnnounced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in December, it gives regional mayors the right to request more control over trains, stations and infrastructure “until the full devolution of local services”.
LDRSAddressing the Local Democracy Reporting ServiceMcGuinness said: “We are absolutely looking at regional proposals for local rail control because too many people fail because of poor service levels.
“As a Northern Group of Mayors we want to work together in the interests of the Great North.”
Northern operates around 2,500 local and regional services every day to towns and cities across England.
He was issued with a formal infringement notice last summer for his “unacceptable” performance levels, while managers admitted in October that he had Still using fax machines..
The operator said it wants 90% of trains to run on time and only 2% of services canceled by 2027.
McGuinness said she hopes to have “real power to make a difference”.
“I want us to get out of this cycle where we’re basically yelling at the operators,” she added.
A Northern spokesman said: “We are committed to working directly with elected mayors across our network to find the best solutions for passengers as part of an integrated network.”
In a statement, a DFT spokesman said the improvement plan would “ensure that Northern delivers better services as we move towards a more unified and reliable network”.
“Mayors know their areas better and will be given a statutory role in running their networks, as well as the ability to ask the transport secretary for greater devolution of rail responsibilities.”