A COUNCIL boss has written to the managing director of Northern demanding to know when normal peak time rail services will resume and what is being done to solve its driver recruitment problems.

More trains were cancelled yesterday as disruption continued following the introduction of a new timetable on May 20.

Cllr Mark Townsend, leader of Burnley Borough Council, told Northern chief David Brown: “I have been extremely disappointed with the poor service, which over the last week has reached breaking point with the majority of peak-time services being cancelled.

“The situation at Burnley Manchester Road is not an isolated incident but part of a complete failure across the Northern network.

“I would like to know, when can residents expect a normal peak-time service to resume? What are Northern doing to resolve its driver recruitment/training problems, and how are they planning to deploy sufficient resource to support a robust timetable for this service?

"Also, what will Northern be doing to rebuild confidence in the service to ensure, after a significant investment by the public sector, that the service will be viable going forwards?”

Mr Brown, who on Tuesday announced an independent report into the recent problems, said: “There is urgent work to do to fully understand what did and didn’t work on all aspects of planning and delivery of the new timetable.

“We are committed to working with Network Rail and Northern stakeholders to deliver the services our customers expect and deserve.”