Apology from Harrogate rail company as it gets ready to reinstate a full timetable

Harrogate rail operator Northern said: "We recognise that the rail network across the north of England has not performed as well as we’d have liked."

As passengers' gripes over punctuality and reliability have grown after months of disruption, train operator Northern says it is now working hard to improve reliability.

Hopes have risen as this Sunday’s launch date near for the reinstatement of a full timetable on the Harrogate Line after cuts were made earlier this year amid a range of post-pandemic challenges.

But the question commuters are now asking is whether the improvements can be achieved in practice at a time of rail driver shortages and industrial action.

Northern's chief operating officer Tricia Williams told the Harrogate Advertiser the company was aiming to up its game in difficult circumstances.“We recognise that the rail network across the north of England has not performed as well as we’d have liked over the last few months and we’re sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused," she said.

"This is due to several factors which are impacting rail industry performance including fully-trained driver availability and ndustrial relations issues with the trade unions.

"We are working very hard with other train operators to improve service reliability.”

Harrogate passengers have long awaited the reinstatement of a full timetable, including the 06.07 and 06.33 early morning services to Leeds and the late afternoon and late evening services between Leeds, Harrogate and York.

Harrogate Line Supporters Group has welcomed news of the new timetable's launch this Sunday, December 11.

But new data provided by the Office of Road and Rail shows a growing toll of rail cancellations over the last year.

At 4.5% in the year up to November 12, Northern's record is higher than the national average of 3.8%, though it is significantly lower than some of the UK's other rail operators.

The worst offender is Avanti West Coast which had the highest proportion of cancellations, at 8%, while TransPennine Express had 5.8% of trains cancelled.

Northern’s website for its current timetables comes with the following warning: “timetables are subject to short notice change.”