Rainhill: Northern apologises after residents complain about service

Although Rainhill lies on the busy Manchester to Liverpool railway line, almost 200 years after the Rainhill Trials which tested the first locomotive trains, many residents feel that the village is underserved by modern public transport.

While many fast-speed trains fly through the historic station, only one train stops in each direction every hour, including weekends, apart from a couple of extra trains in the mornings.

Nevertheless, despite the small number of timetabled trains, residents have complained of increasing issues over the past few months.

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'Ridiculous' service impacting residents

Rainhill is predominantly serviced by one train an hour in each direction (Image: St Helens Star)
Despite the limited service in Rainhill, resident Lottie Blake explained that there have been frequent delays and cancellations on the line, while the hourly trains are often overcrowded.

Explaining that she has missed appointments and that family members have lost jobs due to the poor transport service, Lottie said she has complained to Northern several times over the past 18 months.

Taking to social media to criticise the "ridiculous" service, dozens of other residents raised concerns over their experience.

With her son based in Manchester, Pam Cooke said this has impacted her family as the service seems to change from day to day, while Amanda Kirkwood said that she has often had to walk to Prescot due to cancellations in Rainhill.

Many others agreed that the service is unreliable in both directions in Rainhill, and bemoaned the fact that other areas benefit from trains every 15 to 20 minutes.

Aware of the issues that have faced Rainhill passengers, a spokesperson for Northern apologised for the poor performance, adding that the train operator has been managing high levels of staff sickness in recent weeks.

The spokesperson clarified that the operator is committed to improving service reliability in Rainhill, and added that timetable changes happen twice a year, in May and December.

Northern: Performance 'not up to scratch'

Northern apologised for the poor service in Rainhill (Image: Northern)
A spokesperson for Northern, said: “Our performance and reliability have not been up to scratch in recent weeks and for that we have apologised. Our operational colleagues work hard to keep journey planners up to date, but we do advise customers to check closer to the time of travel.

"We are actively managing higher levels of staff sickness, and on Sundays, which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours, we have seen a reduction in train crew making themselves available on parts of the network, including the area around Rainhill.

"In addition, the ongoing industrial relations issues have their own impact. We are working hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.”

Do you have a news story? I cover the whole of the St Helens borough and surrounding areas. Email conal.cunningham@newsquest.co.uk