Greater Manchester Mayor secures new role looking at railways

The committee advises the Transport for the North Board on rail services and infrastructure improvements and all matters relating to rail franchise and contract management in the Rail North area.  

As chairman, Mr Burnham will oversee the strategic direction of the committee, with the support of vice-chairmen from the majority and minority groups on the board.

Bradford Council leader Coun Susan Hinchcliffe has been elected as majority group vice-chairman, while a minority group chairman has not yet been decided.

Mr Burnham said: “It is a great honour to be asked by mayors and leaders from both sides of the Pennines to become the new chair of the Rail North Committee at a crucial time for our railways.

“With both of our main operators under public control, there is a real opportunity to reshape the North’s railways and give long-suffering passengers here a more reliable service. That means holding the operators to account and making the case for the infrastructure the North desperately needs.

“As chair, I will not compromise on the North’s call for a railway that is as least as good as the service in other parts of the country, but I will work constructively with the rail industry and with the Government to achieve it.

“Finally, I wish to thank my predecessor Coun Liam Robinson for his excellent leadership of the committee during some tough years for railways in the North and laying the foundations for change.”