HYNDBURN councillors could write to transport minister Chris Grayling to highlight issues borough Northern Rail users have faced.

A motion of notice has been submitted to be proposed before a full council meeting next week by Cllrs Noordad Aziz and Clare Cleary.

Cllr Aziz said: “This is impacting on residents of Hyndburn obtaining and maintaining roles due to continued poor service.

"The advent of the new timetable has provided both commuters and Northern Rail with many unacceptable challenges.

“On a daily basis, what should be a simple commute to and from work has become a battle against the departures board.

“The impact psychologically and physically has become intolerable for our residents who are dependent upon rail services.

"From an economic perspective, this is undeniably impacting the North and Lancashire.

"Residents already fear possible job losses due to the instability of the rail service.

“On behalf of the commuters of Hyndburn and East Lancashire, we are asking for an official investigation into whether Northern Rail is in breach of its franchise agreement.

"We also ask for reassurance that you are taking every step to ensure Northern Rail improves its performance immediately and they are held to account for the poor service they are providing.

"“Also, We ask DfT consider giving more power and control be given to Transport for North to hold rail franchises to account as well as implement infrastructure projects in the North that can transform the North such as the re-establishment of the Skipton to Colne Rail Line and the expansion of the M65 to linking into Yorkshire and to the A1 (M)."

Meanwhile, Transport for the North board members received a presentation on Northern's improvement plans.

Board members expressed frustration around performance in general and in particular the industry’s short term plans to improve the resilience of the network.

From December, passengers whose journeys are disrupted by 15-29 minutes will also be able to claim compensation under the Northern Delay Repay scheme – currently only those delayed by 30 minutes or more can claim.

John Cridland, chairman of Transport for the North, said: “Our focus as a board is on a rail service that is reliable, resilient and environmentally sustainable and we will continue to press the industry in order to deliver on our vision.

“The imminent implementation of the further compensation scheme we have been seeking will help passengers who were disrupted earlier this year.”