Improvements to the Borough’s rail services bring tangible benefits for local passengers  

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has welcomed improvements in Northern’s rail performance, following months of direct engagement with the Council to address the disruption experienced by local passengers.

Residents across the Borough are now seeing more reliable journeys, fewer cancellations, and reduced overcrowding – positive signs that the Council’s intervention is making a meaningful difference on the ground.

At the most recent meeting between the Leader of the Council, Cllr Phil Riley, and Northern representatives, the operator shared a number of positive developments relating to performance, rolling stock, and Sunday services – indicating that the Council’s relationship with Northern is now beginning to deliver real results for residents.

Performance on local routes continues to improve

Northern confirmed that rail performance across the region has improved significantly in recent months with cancellation rates falling below the levels recorded during the same period last year.

Key improvements include:

• A sharp reduction in overall cancellations compared with 2025.
• Only 2.2% of trains on routes through Greater Manchester, including the Clitheroe line, cancelled in the last period of railway performance between 1 and 28 February 2026.
• Northern’s cancellation rate halved year-on-year, with the operator committing to maintaining this progress.
• These improvements mean fewer last‑minute disruptions to work, school and hospital shifts – concerns that residents have repeatedly raised with the Council during periods of poor performance.

Cllr Phil Riley welcomed the progress but emphasised that reliability must continue to improve further:

“Residents are beginning to feel a real difference – fewer cancelled services, more predictable journeys, and a noticeable improvement in day‑to‑day reliability. While some delays still occur, the direction of travel is encouraging, and we will continue pushing for consistent, dependable services every day of the week.”

Four-Carriage services returning across East Lancashire

 Northern have been working hard to restore four‑carriage trains on several routes following a period of disruption caused by unexpected faults earlier in the year. The temporary use of two‑car units has led to overcrowding on key routes including the Clitheroe line and Todmorden Curve.

Recent progress includes:

• Rail users travelling through Blackburn and East Lancashire are seeing noticeably more space and reduced overcrowding.
• Northern plans to further restore four‑carriage provision on several routes across the region.
• This directly addresses concerns raised by passengers about packed morning and evening trains and represents a significant improvement in comfort and accessibility.

What this means for local rail users:

• More dependable peak-time journeys for commuters and students
• Less overcrowding on services through Blackburn and Darwen
• Fewer last minute cancellation disrupting work and family plans.
• Greater confidence in using rail for leisure, weekend, and shift work travel.

 The council will continue to push for better services

Cllr Riley emphasised that although the recent progress is welcome, the Council will continue to hold Northern to account on behalf of residents and will push for:

• Consistent four‑carriage services on all peak‑time routes
• Further improvements to Sunday and late‑evening services
• Continued reduction in short-notice cancellations.
• Better accessibility and clearer timetable information for passengers

Cllr Riley added: “We have pressed Northern consistently on the quality of local rail services, and it’s encouraging to see that our efforts are starting to deliver meaningful improvements. Our residents deserve a rail service that is reliable, comfortable, and fit for purpose – not just sometimes, but every single day. We will keep working with Northern and pressing where needed to ensure this progress continues.”