COUNCIL bosses could write to the Government expressing concerned over the continued use of pacer trains.

Clllr Noordad Aziz has proposed a motion to go before a full council meeting in Hyndburn next week.

He says poor performance of Northern means Government needs to bring the franchise back into public ownership in order to improve performance.

Cllr Aziz said: “Northern is one of the few franchises to have these 'Buses on Tracks' hindering passenger reliance as well as being unsuitable for disabled passengers.

“This issue highlights the continued poor performance by Northern following last year's timetabling issue which has a detrimental impact on the residents of Hyndburn and East Lancashire.

“The Northern train operator franchise needs to be brought back into public ownership based on its continued poor performance and delivery to the residents of Hyndburn and East Lancashire.

“Also a firm investment programme must be undertaken as part of a return to public ownership to bring into line the rail service in East Lancashire with other parts of the country.

“A firm commitment should be given by the Department for Transport that services from East Lancashire that are run by Northern will not be scaled back as part of any review as they provide access to economic centres for many of our residents.”

As part of the motion, Cllr Aziz is also calling for a review to be undertaken of the Northern timetable of services to highlight what he describes as the poor onward connectivity that exists for East Lancashire passengers by the Northern franchise.

In addition, he is calling for direct trains from East Lancashire to Manchester stopping at Rishton, as well as investment in infrastructure to electrify the line, reopen the Skipton to Colne rail link and increase passenger and freight capacity.

If councillors back the motion next week, a letter will be sent to Government officials outlining Cllr Aziz's concerns.

Last month, politicians demanded that Northern compensates passengers who have to keep travelling on Pacer trains after it admitted it would not adhere to its own promise to stop running them by the end of the year.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis and Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake have expressed to the company their “deep disappointment and frustration” at the situation.

The letter signed by the three leaders and sent to Northern managing director David Brown said the firm should reduce fares on routes where Pacers are being used until their replacements are brought into service.

A Northern spokesman said: “As a result of further delays in the construction and delivery of our new trains from manufacturer CAF, a small number of Pacers units will need to be retained for a short period of time in 2020 to deliver the planned daily timetable with the right capacity for our customers. This situation is not unique to Northern.

“We understand that customers will be disappointed and we are finalising proposals for customer support and offers for customers on those routes on which Pacers will be used in 2020.”