Today we have joined forces with media outlets across the North West to issue a rallying cry to the government to end rail services chaos in this region.
As part of a day of action, news titles across the region are starting a petition calling on ministers to come good on their “Northern Powerhouse” promise.
We want them to end the chaos on our rail services, sign off upgrades promised and redress decades of under-funding in Cheshire and North West.
So we’ve joined regional news groups and fellow members of the Independent Community News Network (ICNN) across Cheshire, Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and Yorkshire to demand action on behalf of our readers in the #onenorth campaign.
Four years ago this month, then-Chancellor George Osborne promised – when unveiling his vision for a Northern Powerhouse – to ‘join our northern cities together’ with faster, modern transport connections.
Directly addressing the franchise eventually won by Northern Rail a year later, he said: “We’ll want to see not just better services, and more seats at peak times, but also better journeys.”
We agree. So now that’s what we want. And not just for the big cities – but for all areas of the North West including South Cheshire.
Instead of launching a lengthy inquiry that will not report back – with information the government should already know – until the end of the year, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling (pictured) needs to end the chaos on our rail network NOW.
We need a fair, fit-for-purpose compensation scheme put in place within days.
And we need the rest of the Northern Powerhouse that government promised us too, including major transport projects.
Finally, we want fair funding – not more second-class services, while London eyes up its SECOND high-speed CrossRail link.
Funding to improve our rail, road and public transport network to ensure communities across South Cheshire can stay connected to each other and to our region’s big cities.
With one voice, we say to the Prime Minister: You promised us a Northern Powerhouse.
It’s time you delivered it.
Sign our petition here: https://www.change.org/p/prime-minister-end-the-northern-rail-nightmare-give-us-the-powerhouse-you-promised
(Pics courtesy of creative commons licence, by El Pollock & Chris McAndrew)
We’ve been treated as second class travellers for too long