Network Rail boss quits after people left stranded on trains for hours
The managing director of the Wales region for Network Rail has resigned days into an investigation into poor punctuality of services and repeated faulty lines. Michelle Handforth, who also oversees the whole of the western region, which stretches from Wales to west London, resigned on Friday.
Her resignation comes while the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) investigates “performance issues” on the line. The ORR said while services elsewhere are stabilising, performances in the western region are deteriorating.
Ms Handforth’s resignation comes in the same month a litany of issues occurred on main lines into London - leading in one case to many hundreds of passengers being trapped for more than three hours in the dark and without toilet facilities[1]. Several services were stranded when high-voltage overhead lines became faulty at Ladbroke Grove near Paddington on December 7. It came after at least five other track faults, including a broken rail at Iver, near Slough, on November 21 caused cancellations to services between London and Wales and the south west. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter[2].
Feras Alshaker, from the ORR, said the body will "take a detailed look" at the causes of the region's issues. "As part of our work we will convene a round table with key players in the region to support Network Rail in taking pragmatic and effective action to improve performance for all the region's rail users," he said days before Ms Handforth's resignation.
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), urged Network Rail needed to invest properly "in the maintenance of its infrastructure", saying delays to repairs and maintenance caused cancellations and increased safety risks.
Ms Handforth, who commuted to work from Aberdeen in Scotland, had been in the role for three and a half years. The job came with an annual salary of more than £300,000. Before taking on the role she was chief executive officer for the Port of Aberdeen.
References
- ^ trapped for more than three hours in the dark and without toilet facilities (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Trains in Wales are getting worse while the rest of the UK is stable (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Rail passenger had to stand in the toilet with eight other people on 'dangerous' journey (www.walesonline.co.uk)