Nils Pratley is right about Grant Shapps’ weasel words concerning Northern rail (Shapps sounds the whistle over Northern rail – but a plan for real action is long overdue, 3 January). I am a Londoner who uses this “service” frequently between Leeds and Manchester and towns and villages in between. Overcrowded trains caused by perverse incentives to use fewer coaches, and extreme unreliability, often caused by insufficient staff, are a nightmare. The best thing about Northern is its friendly and efficient train staff. As a slightly disabled passenger, usually carrying a suitcase, I am very grateful to the guards, without whom I’d feel quite anxious as I make my way off a train with a drop and a gap, with no platform staff at all – it’s even harder for a mum with a buggy and small children. Guards in charge of the doors are essential to passenger safety.
Judith Fage
London
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