A rail boss got a hefty pay rise after commuters on his lines were plunged into chaos by delays.
Arriva Trains increased managing director Chris Burchell’s salary from £298,000 to £311,000 for the year to December 2018.
But months earlier 165 Northern Rail services were axed as an “interim” timetable kicked in.
It left thousands of passengers stranded in areas including Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool and the Lake District.
Tonight Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham slammed Mr Burchell’s pay award, saying: “This news will stick in the throats of long-suffering Northern passengers and shows our rail industry is in dire need of radical reform.
“Bosses should take a pay cut, not line their pockets. Government action on Northern is as overdue as one of their trains.
"We call on the Transport Secretary to remove Northern’s franchise and the Government to deliver the power and funding to honour the PM’s promise of devolved local control of our railways.”
News of the rise follows revelations Arriva directors netted £2.05million in 2018, up from £1.802million – while government subsidies to the company grew to £282million.
Arriva said: “One in five rail journeys are operated by Arriva and we have some of the leading customer satisfaction scores.
"We had unprecedented challenges on our Northern network, which regrettably impacted many passengers.
“Our programme for new trains, better stations, more services and faster journeys is delivering improved journeys.”
