Are you getting fed up with the drunken people who ride up and down the Huddersfield to Stalybridge Route, purporting to be ” Real Ale Fans”, particularly on Saturday mornings and afternoons?
If so please let us know. We intend compiling a log of major incidents or regular incidents which we will use to campaign for better policing of the trains and pubs.
Ed 23 6 11
Another tragedy took place on the Huddersfield to Manchester line this morning ( February 25th 2011) at around 11.15 am when an older woman was struck by a train at Slaithwaite Station.Police and ambulances attended the scene and local people reported that the passenger died at the scene.
This is probably the third person to die on the stretch of rail between Huddersfield and Marsden in the past 6 months to a year.
Whilst our every sympathy goes out to the relatives of those people who have died, we feel deeply for the drivers and guards on the trains affected.
Let us hope that this will be the last person killed on this stretch of track for many years
Editor
TB
by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Feb 22 2011
A RAIL firm running services through Huddersfield has been named Train Operator of the Year.
Northern Rail, which operates services from Huddersfield to Barnsley, Sheffield, Halifax, Bradford and Wakefield and stopping trains to Manchester and Leeds was praised by judges for improving punctuality, reliability and customer service.
The improvements helped Northern Rail secure a two-year extension to its franchise, meaning it will run until at least September, 2013.
Judges said that Northern’s joint owners – Serco and Abelio – had been required to invest £250,000 a year as part of their franchise agreement, but that so far they had invested £25m and had attracted £80m from outside sources.
Northern Rail was also highly commended in the Rail Business Awards in London.
Northern Rail is the UK’s biggest train operator.
END
Readers might wish to note that SMART has written to the Secretary of State for Transport requesting her to take note of the lack of accountability of train operating companies (TOC’s) such as Northern when deciding on the new 22.5 year franchises she is considering. SMART has suggested that another 25 years of the poor quality of Northern might be more than local people could bear.
TB
Editor
No Longer will you have to stand in the cold wondering if the train will turn up, for as from today, Norther rail have brought back announcement to Marsden and Slaithwaite.
No longer will you hear the jubilant cry ” Mind the gap” , passengers today have noticed that not only were trains running on time ( or some of them) but they were being announced.
SMART warmly welcomes this leap forward in passenger care. Please try to keep it up, Northern. Last time it was only a matter of weeks before the system failed again.
