The Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, says Andy Burnham texts her 'every Monday' to update her on the performance of under-fire Northern trains. Ms Haigh MP said it was a 'priority' for her to turn around the level of service offered to Northern commuters in Greater Manchester and the north.
And a Greater Manchester MP said 'too many' people were now opting to travel by car or by taxi to get to work or schools due to continued cancelled trains. The updates emerged during a House of Commons debate after Ms Haigh delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday about rail performance.
As reported, Northern was last month told by the mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham, who chairs the Rail North Committee, to 'go back and interrogate every aspect' of an action plan designed to drive-up its services for passengers.
In the wake of a fiery meeting of the committee, Greater Manchester also wrote to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and Ms Haigh, urging the Government for help and support.
Mr Burnham said Northern needed a mandate to agree revised 'rest day working' rates with drivers, and a mandate to 'unlock the issue where Sundays are voluntary for conductors as part of historic terms and conditions'. Both issues are causing trains to be routinely cancelled, with Sundays a particular problem as 'do not travel' warnings are issued by Northern.

As reported, Ms Haigh said in her statement an agreement on rest day working has been reached. "Passengers will see a tangible impact on reliability on Northern Rail trains," she told MPs. "Thanks to our agreement on rest day working, hundreds more driver shifts have been covered this weekend, cutting cancellations now and in the long run.
"Those are early signs of what happens when a Government gets a grip and puts passengers at the heart of decision making. Resetting industrial relations is already having a direct impact on better services, but it will take time to pass all the benefits on to passengers. We have to be clear-eyed about the problems, but we are committed to full transparency."
But in response to a question from Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, she said there was an 'outstanding issue' with conductors.
Ms Haigh replied: "I have routine conversations with Northern Rail. The most recent was on Thursday. We facilitated a new rest day working agreement with it, which has significantly reduced driver cancellations, but there is an outstanding issue with conductors. In parts of Northern Rail, particularly in the north-west, Sundays are not included in the working week.
"That has led to an unacceptable amount of cancellations, which we are working to resolve."
The Lib Dem MP for Hazel Grove in Stockport, Lisa Smart, said her constituents 'have to rely on two of the most unreliable train operating companies: Northern and TransPennine Express'. "Too many of them are having to drive to get to work on time or get a taxi to get back in time for after-school club," she said.

Ms Haigh agreed and said 'performance has not been good enough'. Both Northern and TransPennine Express are run by a business on behalf of the Government.
Ms Haigh said in response that 'neither operator is where it needs to be', adding: "We are working closely with them as a priority through the operator of last resort, not only to drive efficiencies, but crucially to drive performance. I was struck when I met Network Rail and some of the managing directors of the worst-performing operating companies that they made it clear that the previous levels of performance had simply been tolerated and accepted as normal across the industry. They are under no doubt that under this Government, that level of performance will no longer be tolerated."
Labour MP for Calder Valley, Josh Fenton-Glynn, said his constituents were 'sick' of Northern's performance.
Ms Haigh said: "We can hear from the House how much of an impact the levels of service on Northern Rail are having. Andy Burnham texts me every Monday about the performance on Northern trains, so I can assure my hon. Friend that it is a priority."
The Transport Secretary, in her speech, said rail performance data would be displayed at train stations to show passengers how services are working, and the Government was pushing ahead with the 'biggest overhaul' of the railways in more than 30 years, including improved integration between track and train.