Got a lovely personal email back from Northern about the state of the station and the lack of toilet facilities…they couldn’t give a toss!
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I am writing to address the correspondence you have sent ourselves regarding the issues relating to Sunderland train station.
I want to extend my sincere apologies for the inconvenience and discomfort you experienced during your journey. Your feedback is invaluable to us as it helps us identify areas for improvement in our services.
I want to assure you that your observations have been duly noted and shared with the relevant department. Any necessary action to address these issues will be taken promptly to prevent similar experiences in the future.
I appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our attention and for providing valuable feedback. Your input allows us to continuously improve our services for all our passengers.
Should you have any further concerns or if there’s anything else I can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Further reply
I managed to get a complimentary ticket out of the first email. I’ve asked for at least the same again.
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Thank you for your patience whilst this was looked into.
I can confirm that the toilet facilities at Sunderland station are locked after the staff leave at 6pm, as the station itself does not have the staffing levels to enable the toilets to stay open outside of the staff hours. The station itself also has issues with anti-social behaviour which does prevent the station from leaving them open.
Unfortunately, we are experiencing a higher than planned sickness rate in some areas, and we are finding that our standby & contingency supplements are not covering the shortfalls. Part of this issue is due to the industrial dispute and overtime bans which have been put in place by the unions as you mentioned. We are recruiting, however our onboard crew carry out essential health and safety duties, so before they are signed off to work, we need to be sure that they have passed our non-negotiable standards in the interests of keeping colleagues and customers safe on the network. We are working to get more staff in situ as soon as reasonably possible while maintaining these standards, and appreciate the patience.
In recent weeks a number of services have been affected by high levels of traincrew absence including sickness at key depots which operate on this route. We appreciate the impact on our customers and are working hard to support our colleagues in returning to work.
From 1 November 2024 we have secured a new Rest Day Working agreement with the ASLEF union which will help us to increase training provision. The improved staff availability will also enable us to better cover any gaps in the timetable and provide a more reliable service for our customers.
We have also introduced a new timetable starting 15th December which would hopefully alleviate the issues faced by our customers when attempting to use our services. This has been done to introduce extra reliability across our network.
Wherever possible, our control team will avoid cancellations; sadly cancellations are sometimes unavoidable. That being said, where disruption does occur, customers can claim compensation or refunds from us with no admin fee, rail replacement will be organised when widespread cancellations occur, and in certain situations, we can arrange taxis for customers.
I apologise for the issues faced. Should you have any further queries do not hesitate to contact me.
