North of England rail ‘chaos’ stems from ‘toxic combination’ of issues, MPs hear

Late, inadequate and overbooked trains are costing the regional economy half a billion pounds a year

Bosses of northern train operators conceded their companies are letting passengers and businesses down when they appeared before a parliamentary hearing examining this year's rail meltdown" in northern England.

Thousands of trains have been cancelled at short notice in recent months and if passengers do get a service it has often been unbearably crowded, unduly expensive or both.