BROKEN promises on the part of rail chiefs have prompted a councillor to demand answers from bosses.

Denise Burness is seeking assurances from Arriva Trains after battling continuous delays and cancellations in Millom.

Residents were filled with a new sense of hope as Arriva announced it would take over the Northern franchise earlier this year, promising additional services and new rolling stock.

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Calling on Arriva bosses to make their plans clear, Cllr Burness said: “We need a statement from Arriva about what their plans are for Millom.

"You get to the station here - and this is an excellently run ticket office without any doubt - but we come here knowing that the train is going to be late. We just expect it and it’s not acceptable.”

Cllr Burness argues that the unreliability of services is putting residents at a serious disadvantage when it comes to employment prospects.

She said: “It’s difficult for people who are going for interviews or appointments. We still don’t have a Sunday service and for a lot of people round here, their only hope for employment is in the service industry, but no-one is going to take on a member of staff who can’t get to work on a Sunday.

“With Moorside it’s already been established that Millom is not looking to feature much on the development side of things but people cannot be denied job opportunities providing they can get there, but a surprising amount of people don’t have cars and it’s not always possible for people to car share.”

Cllr Burness is calling on Arriva to provide the town with a Sunday service, in addition to later services to Whitehaven, better connections to the wider rail network and improved accessibility for disabled passengers.

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David Andrews, secretary for the Copeland Rail Users Group, agrees with Cllr Burness but concedes that improvements have been made since April.

He said: "Over the summer we’ve had a lot of problems with delays and cancellations but that has got better in the last couple of weeks.

“There’s certainly a lot of work that needs to be done but it is improving. If you look back five years we’ve come a long way."

Northern Rail, part of Arriva, has apologised about service delays and cancellations but maintains that staff are working hard to ensure a better service for customers.

The project is a four-year-long scheme to make improvements across the north of England, but representatives say it is too early to pinpoint the exact changes that will be made to individual areas but are adamant that every community will benefit in some way.

Craig Harrop, regional stakeholder manager for Northern Rail, said: “The new Northern franchise has just embarked on a £1bn transformation programme that will see the biggest improvements to services for a generation. Over the next four years customers will see new and improved trains, with more capacity, a refreshed network and more services that will deliver a better travel experience.”