A delay-ridden rail company is still using fax machines in its head office, it was revealed in an emergency meeting held by mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
Northern, which operates local train services across cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, has apologised over its recent performance after delays and cancellations beset commuters.
Burnham called an emergency meeting with bosses to restore an acceptable level of service, but even he will not have been prepared for what was revealed.
The boss of Northern Rail was forced to admit his staff still have to use fax machines to book holidays.
Matt Rice revealed faxes are also used internally to communicate cancellations of rail services among staff and crews at the most recent Rail North Committee (RNC) meeting.
Burnham said it was “no wonder” passengers faced delays and said “the north needs better than an unreliable fax-driven railway”.
He asked how it could “possibly be the case in 2024” that fax machines were still being used.
“People will ask after decades of privatisation, where has the money gone?” he said.
“Where has the money gone in the rail industry given that we are still using 1980s technology to communicate?”
Rice replied: “It is our challenge to get rid of them – it’s in our plans to get rid of them. The tools we use to get messaging and information to our crew rely on faxes, amazingly.
“We will get there before we are forced to because fax technology, in telecoms terms, turns off.”
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