Oldham doesn’t have many train services – but the few it does can be unreliable and unconnected.
According to PA analysis of data from the Office of Rail and Road, eight per cent of Northern services were cancelled in the four weeks to Saturday, January 7 – the highest on record for the operator.
Other services in the region were also affected, with nearly a fifth of Avanti West Coast services cancelled.
Locally, Oldham has few train services – with much of the borough disconnected from the National Rail network back in 2009, before being connected to the Metrolink system a few years later.
However, some of the borough does remain connected – with Mills Hill station serving Chadderton, and Greenfield station serving the east of the borough.
Lynne Oakley, from Royton, values the remaining connection.
With a journey time of 12 minutes to travel from Mills Hill to Manchester Victoria, Lynne, aged 68, uses the train instead of her car on her twice-weekly trips to the city.
Back in August, Lynne was concerned over the reliability of the service, with half-hourly trains replaced by two trains at 14 and 25 past each hour – meaning cancellations or delays could leave a long time without a service.
Royton is in the middle of two different types of public transport systems and there’s no access to them, so I can’t get a bus to Mills Hill.
Northern promised it would bring back a half-hourly service from December, so we caught up with Lynne to see how it was going.
Lynne said: “The timetables have changed during the day so now they come at half-past the hour and on the hour, which is great.
“But after about seven o’clock, they change to every hour, so if you’re coming home it doesn’t give you an awful lot to go at.
“The service has been OK, apart from the strikes. It’s not been too bad.
“We could do with a bit more transport later in the evening. If I was on my own I wouldn’t want to get the last train, I’d rather have more trains a bit earlier on. They always used to come every half-hour, even in the evening, so that’s changed.
“I do have a car and I can drive, but there’s nowhere really to park in Manchester and I’d much rather use public transport if I could.”
Royton disconnected
Lynne also explained her frustration at the disconnected nature of the station to the surrounding area.
Bus links from Royton to Mills Hill station were lost in April 2020, when the 412 service was withdrawn after years of being subsidised by Transport for Greater Manchester.
She added: “Royton is in the middle of two different types of public transport systems and there’s no access to them, so I can’t get a bus to Mills Hill.”
Lynne also expressed discontent with the lack of an auto-renewal option on the older person’s tram and train travel pass – which allows unlimited off-peak tram and train travel for just £10 a year.
Transport for Greater Manchester weighs in
Sean Dyball, Transport for Greater Manchester head of customer experience, said: “We want the Bee Network to provide an integrated, affordable and accessible public transport system for everyone, and offer a range of discounted travel schemes such as the older person’s travel pass which includes the option to add tram and train travel.
“We have a dedicated customer services team who are always on hand to help and support our customers, including with renewals process, so we’d urge anyone with concerns to get in touch.”
Train operator responds
Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, added: “We recognise that there were a greater number of cancellations over Christmas and the New Year and we are sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused.
“Those cancellations were the result of a high level of sickness absence - twice the industry average - and the industrial action that took place in December and early January.
“We are now operating our new timetable and seeing an improving picture. Indeed, since Monday, January 9 we have seen an almost threefold reduction in the number of cancellations across our 2,500 daily services.”
Council responds
A council spokesman said: “The council continuously lobbies for cheaper, greener and better public transport links for residents.”
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