Mayor of West Yorkshire leads talks with Northern leaders as rail chaos continues

The talks with Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham; Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram; Mayor of the North of Tyne, Jamie Driscoll and Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard follow weeks of disruption where hundreds of services have been cancelled by a number of rail operators, including TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast and Northern.

The saga has affected thousands of commuters in the North, with people left facing last-minute cancellations or waiting hours for unreliable replacement services, putting an additional strain on the economy.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said:

"Today, we as Northern Mayors come together to send a clear message that we will not stand for this shambles.

"This is inflicting misery on millions of people, derailing our plans to build a strong Northern economy and putting us in the slow lane.

"The North has been left behind for far too long, and we’re calling on the third transport secretary in as many months to step in with an immediate intervention."