https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46653324Is the Ormskirk to Preston line the worst railway in the UK▸ ?
Since the timetable changes in May, more than 2,000 services have been cancelled between the two destinations in north west England, a figure that rises every day.
In exclusive data analysed for the BBC» , 5,712 trains were timetabled to run during the six-and-a-half-month period.
But up until Saturday 15 December, only 3,701 operated. That meant a third of services simply vanished.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, says the route operator, Northern, should now be put on final warning.
Those living and depending on the route have had enough.
Students missed end-of-year exams because the hourly train didn't arrive. Elderly people continue to miss important hospital appointments. Some are in trouble at work.
The personal toll is huge and people in this corner of the North West feel no-one really cares about them.
The main line from Liverpool to the further north of England and Scotland used to run from Exchange Station via Ormskirk to Preston and a pretty straight line. But that's no longer the case; Exchange has gone, and electric trains from Merseyrail provide a frequent service from Ormskirk into the city, then go underground via Moorfields across the city. A good service.
But the at Ormskirk a pair of buffers facing each way on the same single platform prevent through trains running ... and a diesel shuttle service runs (or is supposed to run) on to Preston. The journey time is scheduled at exactly 30 minutes and with a. five minute turn around at Ormskirk, that makes for a timetabled 55 minutes in Preston. I rather suspect (would love to learn from others) this makes the train ripe to hijack to fill other gaps in Northern's services from Preston ... resulting in the appalling level of service reported by the BBC.
