The
Mayor
of
Greater
Manchester
Andy
Burnham
was
late
for
a
news
conference
to
protest
about
poor
railway
services
–
because
his
train
was
cancelled.
Merseyside
Mayor
Steve
Rotheram
was
also
late
for
the
same
reason.
Speaking
to
reporters
at
the
conference
on
Saturday,
Any
Burnham
called
for
the
government
to
provide
financial
support
for
railways
in
the
region.
He
said:
‘Appalling
levels
of
service
are
also
turning
people
away
from
the
railways
at
a
time
when,
to
meet
our
economic
and
environmental
ambitions,
we
urgently
need
to
make
sure
public
transport
is
always
a
viable
–
and
even
a
preferable
–
alternative
to
cars.
But
it
is
not
just
operators
who
are
responsible
for
the
North’s
failing
rail
system.
Successive
governments
have
failed
to
invest
in
vital
infrastructure
improvements
that
could
make
a
significant
difference
to
reliability.’

Bond
Street
station
opens

The
new
Elizabeth
Line
station
at
Bond
Street
opened
this
morning,
after
delays
to
construction
had
meant
that
it
stayed
closed
when
trains
started
running
through
the
central
section
in
May.
The
Mayor
of
London
Sadiq
Khan,
outgoing
transport
commissioner
Andy
Byford
and
transport
minister
Katherine
Fletcher
were
at
the
station
to
welcome
some
of
the
first
passengers.