TROUBLED rail firm Northern is to be brought under Government control from March 1.

The announcement was made in Parliament this lunchtime, Wednesday, by transport secretary Grant Shapps.

The company has been under fire for delayed trains for months.

In a written statement to Parliament, Mr Shapps said he wanted 'real and tangible' improvements for passengers on Northern's routes.

He said: "I am announcing today that from 1 March the Northern Rail franchise will be taken into public ownership and the Government will begin operating services through the public-sector operator - the so-called operator of last resort.

"The public-sector operator is a company entirely owned by my department and run by experienced railway managers.

"It already owns and oversee another franchise, East Coast, which it brands as London North Eastern Railway. Passenger satisfaction has risen in the nineteen months it has been operating the service.

"This is a new beginning for Northern, but it is only a beginning. Northern's network is huge and complex, some of the things which are wrong are not going to be quick or easy to put right.

"Nonetheless, I am determined that Northern passengers see real and tangible improvements across the network as soon as possible."

Mr Shapps went on to say: “The railways were invented in the North. Last year the Prime Minister promised that we would give the railway back to the places it was born, giving more power over services, fares, and stations to local leaders.

“Today marks the first small step towards the North taking back control of its railways and its people taking back control of their travelling lives.

“There will be no more leaving behind. This Government is committed to levelling-up.”

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of transport union TSSA, added: “I’m glad that at last Grant Shapps has agreed with our union that the Northern franchise has run out of rail.

"The only question is – what took him and this Tory government so long at act? 

“Frankly the only way to turn this mess around is to create a system in our country which works for passengers rather than profiteers right across the board.

"That means ending the Frankenstein experiment of private railways once and for all.”