Back-to-school rail woes in Cumbria worsen in unpredictable landscape

According to rail network company Northern, of all the areas in its rail network, Cumbria is the one which sees the most railway stations which are used by commuting schoolchildren.

The county joins Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and West Yorkshire, which all are riding high with large numbers of stations being used by students for their commute to school.

The group released the data as part of its campaign to encourage even more students to switch from commuting to and from school by using cars or other road vehicles to using trains.

This, it said, could be made easier by ‘investing’ in one of its under-16 education season tickets in time for when the new school term starts.

The scheme, which Northern said it runs in partnership with 166 secondary school and university technical colleges across the north of England, offers students and pupils 75 per cent off the cost of their commuting ticket.

In Cumbria, two of the most popular routes for commuting schoolchildren are from Oxenholme Lake District to Windermere, and stations along the Cumbrian coast.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “It is interesting to see just how much a difference there is between the counties of students that use the train to get to school.

“We want to encourage as many as possible to make the switch from road to rail, and with 75 per cent off the cost of their commute, under 16 education season tickets offer one of the most generous discounts of any ticket scheme in the country.”

Louise Atkinson, a former Carlisle councillor, and current president of the National Education Union, spoke on how ongoing railway issues could affect schoolchildren this back-to-school season.

Louise Atkinson (Image: NQ)

She is also a teacher, and a mother of a child who frequently uses trains to go to school, as well as a trade unionist, and described the many facets of a complex situation affecting the nation for well over a year.

“The cost of train travel is a huge concern for families, including my own," she said. 

“The cost of transport to school on the rail network becomes even more expensive for pupils studying A-levels as they no longer qualify for a child's ticket.

“Pupils across Cumbria are missing out on days of education as travel costs become completely unmanageable.

“It is becoming more and more difficult for pupils to use the rail network to commute to and from school due to a combination of rising costs and the unpredictability of the service."

The rail network across the county has been hit this year by various ongoing strikes.

Members of the drivers' union Aslef are taking action, coinciding with strikes by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union in its dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. 

Strike days this year have resulted in greatly reduced timetables by operators including Northern, Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express.

If pupils are late for school due to delayed or cancelled trains, it is uncommon for sanctions to be imposed, Ms Atkinson said - and families can plans around strike days.

“Schools are understanding when trains are cancelled due to either industrial action or the mismanagement of the services which lead to frequent cancellations due to lack of train crew. 

“The days of industrial action are much easier for families to make alternative arrangements to get their kids to school as there is considerable notice given for industrial action. 

“What is much more difficult and ends up with pupils missing more of their education are the services that are cancelled at short notice. 

“Many times, I have dropped my daughter at the station and gone to work myself for the train to be cancelled and she is left without any way to get into school. 

“We always check now before we leave the house, but we shouldn't have to do this, we should be able to rely on a train to run when it is expected to,” she added.

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said this week: “We don’t want to take this action but the train companies, and the Government which stands behind them, have forced us into this place.

“Train drivers at these companies have not had a pay rise for four years – since 2019 – while inflation has rocketed. We haven’t heard a word from the employers – we haven’t had a meeting, a phone call, a text message, or an email – since Wednesday, April 26, and we haven’t had any contact with the Government since Friday, January 6."

Meanwhile, both the RMT and the Government remain locked in a dispute over pay.

The dispute is now entering its second year and neither side looks to be letting up.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The Government is not serious about settling this dispute which is leading to further disruption for passengers."

A Department for Transport spokesperson added: “The Government has played its part to try and end these disputes by facilitating fair and reasonable pay offers, but union leaders refuse to allow their members to vote on them."

As a parent, the potential loss of a child’s education is a concern, and is adding to the difficulty of parenting for everyone, Ms Atkinson said.

“I know how important education is and how crucial it is for my daughter's education that she attends school regularly but as a single working mum I have found it increasingly difficult to manage both the cost of her rail commute to school and to navigate the many short notice cancellations.

“The staff at the station are fabulous and particularly the ticket office staff who have given us advice on rail cards that provide savings on my daughter's ticket and advice on which services are running on any given day.”

In Cumbria overall, access to transport that schoolchildren can use to go to school can be difficult, due to its rural landscape and difficulty in funding and planning a reliable bus route to and from schools to homes of pupils which are often well out of the way and far beyond walking distance.

While discounted tickets are available, Ms Atkinson said the cost is still hitting the family hard.

“Now my daughter is over 16, the cost for a 20-minute train journey to and from school is £295 per half term.

“I believe it was around £150 before she turned 16.

“This has been a huge expense for our family which has been even more difficult to maintain during a cost-of-living crisis.”