NORTHERN train bosses have been told they have more work to do to win back the trust of rail passengers.

Local councillors have called on the company to “prove” that the public can “trust” its services again following last year’s timetable “collapse”.

A trio of company managers appeared before a council scrutiny committee in Kendal and were quizzed on recent service performance in Furness and the south Lakes.

Cllr Mark Wilson, the Labour councillor for Ulverston East, said the public was “fed up” and the company needed to “re-convince people” to rely on trains again.

Cllr Wilson said: “How can you prove that these new diesel trains you are talking about are so wonderful? It’s time to prove it.

“How can you tell us things are better? Why do people still come up to me and tell me they could hardly get on or off the train at Manchester because of the crowds on the platforms, never mind over-crowding on the trains.”

Committee member Doug Rathbone said the Lakes Line had seen 16 cancellations in the last fortnight while the Furness Line had suffered 22.

Cllr Rathbone said Northern still had a “long way to go” and SLDC’s scrutiny committee planned to keep “on their backs”.

“There needs to be a renewal in confidence, not just in Northern but confidence in people coming to the South Lakes, which took a hell of a battering,” said Cllr Rathbone, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Kendal South and Natland. “I hear people every week asking why they should bother using the train? I know people get taxis to go on the whole length of the train line because they don’t trust the railway.”

Northern officials said there had been “continual improvement” on both the Lakes Line and the Furness Line since last year.

Craig Harrop, interim regional director, said the Lakes Line was running at 90 per cent and hit 100 per cent last week with no delays or cancellations. The Furness Line was running at 80 per cent but was sometimes hit by problems originating on the network in Manchester.

Mr Harrop said: “We are confident the timetable now works and we have the resources in the right place. For the past seven months it has been consistently delivering.”

The committee was told that a Government-ordered review had pointed the finger of blame at Network Rail, the Department for Transport, the Office of the Rail Regulator and Northern. Chris Jackson, interim director for Northern, said as a “born and bred Cumbrian,” he knew how important the rail network was.

“We are not shying away from where we have not performed well enough. I agree we need to improve,” he said. Mr Jackson said the company had experienced “turmoil” with the RMT disputes, the May timetable change and the delay of electrification.

He said: “It’s about refocussing minds and I believe I have made inroads in the last three months to deliver some of the sustained performance we have seen, with more to come.”