UK rail operator admits it still uses fax machines to contact train crew

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A struggling UK rail operator has admitted it is still using fax machines to communicate with its train crew, as regional mayors said they would press ministers to take action over the “unacceptable” state of its services. 

Northern, which was nationalised in 2020 due to poor performance, is again under fire after a sustained period of high cancellations and “do not travel” warnings to passengers. 

At an extraordinary meeting of the transport body Rail North on Wednesday, the region’s mayors concluded its improvement plan was insufficient.

At the same meeting, Northern’s managers confirmed that it still uses fax machines to communicate with staff. Managing director Trish Williams said it would not be possible to replace them “without an agreement with our trade unions”.

The issue was one of “depth and complexity”, she said, a view disputed by Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham. “The north needs better than an unreliable, fax-driven railway,” he said.

Industry figures said that fax machines are currently still used to send diagrams and rosters to crew working for Northern.

Chief operating officer Matt Rice said the company was working to get rid of the machines, adding that it would “get there before we’re forced to” because the technology would become obsolete.

Burnham said the Northern performance improvement plan presented to leaders on Wednesday was not acceptable. “In short, we need a new plan from you,” he said.

The operator is due to present an updated plan to regional leaders on November 20. 

Northern has proved a headache for regional leaders and rail ministers for years, first under private ownership and later, since March 2020, as a nationalised service. 

The meeting heard that a continued lack of voluntary overtime agreements, coupled with the fact that staff in the western part of its region are not obliged to work on Sundays, have contributed to a fresh wave of weekend cancellations in recent months. 

A central government mandate is required to renegotiate agreements with trade unions, said Northern. The mayors agreed to write to the government requesting progress on the issue.

Northern has breached its contract with the government, which stipulates no more than 7 per cent of services are cancelled, three times since April. About 80 per cent of those cancellations are attributable to Northern itself, rather than infrastructure failures.

The operator was issued with a formal “breach” notice in July by Rail North, the partnership between regional and central government that oversees it.

Since then, Northern has continued to issue “do not travel” warnings to passengers at weekends and many of its ticket offices have been closed on Sundays. 

Members of Rail North criticised Northern on Wednesday for poor communication and the inability of passengers to use their tickets on other operators during periods of disruption. 

Lord Patrick McLoughlin, a former Conservative transport secretary and a member of Rail North, queried why this was the case in particular on TransPennine Express and East Coast main line services, both of which are also nationalised. 

Northern’s problems have reached a head as the Labour government prepares to bring all private operators under public control during this parliament, under a flagship manifesto commitment. It is setting up a new body, Great British Railways, to oversee the process.