Ritika Janiya
Residents of Greater Manchester are told to avoid traveling by train today. Northern rail, the company running the trains, warned passengers to stay away and present themselves at the trains it is proposing not to travel on as it responds to two major concerns: trains are short-staffed and Storm Ashley will bring more chaos.
Unluckily, passengers who are dependent on these trains are getting stranded, and Northern has also confirmed that no replacement buses are available. This means people have very little alternative if they need to travel on the routes.
Why is this happening?
Trains: cancellations The main cause for these sudden cancellations is a lack of train crew. Northern admitted that it does not have enough staff to run the trains on these routes today. And things just get worse as the impending Storm Ashley is expected to bring in more breakdowns. Heavy rainfall and strong gusts could damage tracks, which would then delay other trains as well.
The rail operator is going all out to avoid the uncertainty of passengers before time. Northern had issued a ‘do not travel’ notice so that passengers were not left confused and people had time to change their travel arrangements. However, this infuriated many passengers-the notice had hardly any given warning.
Passenger Frustration
This abrupt cancellation has made most people angry and baffled. Commuters who were relying on the trains to get to their workplace or school have completely been pulled off their plans. Those planning a trip out or having an outing elsewhere were just left stranded with no alternative.
“”I don’t know why they couldn’t have told us sooner,” one passenger complained. “Now I have no idea how I’m going to get to work.”
For many passengers, the lack of alternatives – there were no buses to replace the trains, for example – has been a particularly nasty twist. Usually when trains are canceled, the rail company runs buses to get people on their way to their destination. Not this time.
Storm Ashley: Making Things Worse
As if the train staff shortage is not bad enough, Storm Ashley will worsen things quite further. The storm is expected to hit the UK with very heavy rain and strong winds and cause further delays on other train routes. Some places might experience flooding over railway tracks, making it impossible for trains to be used at all.
The weather, as a matter of fact, has already been getting a bit of a nightmare, with lots of flood warnings flooding the country. Other parts of North West trains may be delayed or canceled as the storm worsens.
What do you do?
If you’re planning on traveling through any of the affected routes today, it may be your best bet to stay home. Northern states they won’t run trains and don’t have replacement buses. So if your journey is absolutely necessary, you will need to find a way to get around.
The travelers will have to check for updates from Northern on their websites and social media pages since the train company periodically updates its sources regarding its train services and possible cancellations. So, check in advance before heading out the door so you’re not caught off guard by some last-minute changes.
What’s Next?
Northern is doing all it can to quickly rectify the shortage of train crew, but it is not clear how soon full services will resume. However, in the meantime, passengers are to stay watching for updates, and they should be prepared for even further disruptions in coming days.
The staff shortages in conjunction with the storm have made a perfect combination of problems for the rail network. Until the staff shortages and storms are sorted out, in all probability the passengers in Greater Manchester and its surrounding areas will continue to face problems when trying to travel by train.
Bottom Line
The situation for anyone who relies on the train network in Greater Manchester is treacherous. No trains were running on four major routes with no other buses to fall back on, leaving thousands of passengers marooned and increasingly frustrated throughout last night and the entire day as the mass rush hour is severely disrupted to the north due to the massive cancellations caused by severe storms. It hasn’t helped matters, of course, that Storm Ashley has bad weather.
For now, just keep yourself abreast of the updates on Northern and, if possible, avoid traveling by train until further notice. Hopefully, Northern will soon rectify the crew shortage and things will go back to normal.
Travel might be tough today, but making safe traveling and alternate plans will get you through this tricky situation.
