Issues on rail network won’t be easy to fix but the country can’t afford to turn its back on rail travel

Currently, Britain’s railway network is stuck in a doom loop. Prices continue to increase but services continue to deteriorate. Reduce rail fares and it’s easy to see services continue to drop.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire is paying the price for decades of underinvestment. The Yorkshire Post has been campaigning for rail improvements for generations.

What has exacerbated this challenge is the aftershock of the Covid pandemic. A lot of commuters switched to hybrid or permanent home working.

But to dismiss rail travel as a relic of a bygone era would be a massive mistake. The demand is still there. This was evident from the reaction to the Government’s proposals to get rid of ticket offices.

And at a time when people are being asked to make fewer car journeys, rail travel is more important than ever.

But in order to ensure that it remains a viable mode of transport, rail fares will need to be kept in check while service levels are improved.

Recently, the Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis talked about his rail woes while taking a train from London to Sheffield. An overcrowded train with only one working toilet will have sounded very familiar to passengers in Yorkshire. Mr Lewis got a small taste of railway life in the North.

Passengers in the North will be grateful to him for helping shed light on what is a far too familiar sight on the railways in the region.