A FULL Barrow to Manchester Airport train service might not return until next year.

The conclusions came during a meeting of the Transport for the North’s Rail North Committee.

Direct train services between Barrow and Manchester Airport had been cut under new timetable changes from 11 to five.

Keith Little, Cumbria County Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said he was frustrated with the way things have been handled within the county's rail timetables.

“A lot of things are meant to have happened, but then they don’t take place at all,” he said. “In the last five years we have seen uplifts in services twice a year, but in reality they have never been fully implemented through lack of resources.

“How can we uplift services by next year? All we are uplifting is hot air across the region."

Officer for Transport for the North, Adam Timewell, replied to Mr Little’s concerns saying: “That is something we have been looking at.

"We must make sure we have the right transport solution at the right time for the north, such as the Manchester Airport service when it is eventually reintroduced fully. We had hoped by May 2021 it could happen, but more research is still needed.”

Barrow MP Simon Fell is equally frustrated at the changes to the timetable. He said: “The replacement of a quick, easy train journey with one which may involve changeovers of up to an hour is clearly not acceptable to the majority of passengers.

"I would urge all concerned to reconsider this decision.”

Chris Jackson, regional director for rail company Northern, has outlined the extra time things are taking to change, saying “because of the impact of the pandemic, some daytime services which would normally operate through to Manchester Airport are terminating or starting at Lancaster, or Preston".

"Our peak time trains continue to offer a direct service between Barrow and Lancaster,” he added.

A spokesman for Northern said: “ The current plan is for the Barrow to Manchester Airport service to return to pre-Covid levels by early next year."

The panel was keen to stress in its report that progress is also been made on initiatives including the Cumbrian Coast upgrade and journey time improvements across the north.