It has been announced that Northern Rail is just months away from financial collapse ALAMYCrisis-hit Northern Rail is just months away from financial collapse amid growing anger over poor performance on the busy commuter network. In the latest blow to Britain’s privatised railways, it was announced on Thursday that the huge franchise will “only be able to continue for a number of months”. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said that a decision would now be taken within the next three weeks on whether to renationalise the line or hand the existing operator a new short-term contract under different terms. Last year Northern, which operates more stations than any other, carried more than 100 million passengers. It raises the prospect of the government being forced to step in to run a second rail network after the decision to bring the…

Source: The Times January 09, 2020 12:00 UTC