The UK rail firm contacting prepare crews with fax machines | UK | News | EUROtoday

Northern Rail has stated it nonetheless depends on fax machines to speak with its prepare crews due to long-standing agreements with commerce unions.

This was revealed throughout a latest Rail North assembly attended by Northern mayors, together with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Burnham stated: “The north needs better than an unreliable, fax-driven railway.”

Northern Rail, which turned state-owned in 2020 following points with efficiency, is the UK’s second-largest prepare firm.

Tricia Williams, Northern Rail’s managing director, defined that it could be troublesome to part out fax machines with out cooperation from commerce unions.

She stated: “We wouldn’t be able to get rid of them tomorrow without an agreement with our train unions.

“We have to take a look at these points with the depth and complexity they’ve.”

Williams added that changing this process requires changing union agreements.

Matt Rice, Northern’s chief operating officer, added that the reliance on fax machines is due to legacy systems that were set up to provide information and schedules to crew members.

“The instruments we use to get data and messages to our crew depend on faxes, amazingly,” he said.

He added that the operator is aiming to move away from this outdated technology.

Burnham questioned why, after decades of privatisation, such methods remain in use. He added: “People watching this session wouldn’t think about changing fax machines as a difficulty of depth and complexity.”

Rice responded, saying: “It’s a good query. Our job is to do away with them. Our job is to unleash the total potential of [the] rising technological revolution.”

Nonetheless, Burnham and other regional leaders concluded that Northern’s current improvement plan was inadequate and they requested a revised proposal, which is expected by November 20.

Northern Rail has faced numerous challenges lately, including frequent cancellations and service disruptions.

In recent months, it has issued multiple “don’t journey” advisories and data revealed it has breached its government contract – which mandates that no more than seven percent of services should be cancelled – three times since April.

Approximately 80 percent of these cancellations have been blamed on Northern Rail’s internal issues, not external factors like infrastructure problems.

A Northern Rail spokesperson acknowledged the company’s performance issues, apologising for recent service disruptions.

They said: “We are sorry for our latest efficiency and settle for it has not been ok. Cancellations are all the time a final resort.”

They added that employees illness and the shortage of voluntary extra time agreements, particularly within the northwest the place employees will not be required to work Sundays, have contributed to the excessive cancellation price.