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This time last year the North of England's biggest rail operator was not in a good place. Reprimanded by the Government in the summer for its poor performance, Northern Trains even got a public dressing down from Andy Burnham when it emerged it was still using fax machines to communicate with staff.

"People in the North of England should not be expected to put up with a substandard service", said the Greater Manchester mayor last October. "People here should no longer be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to transport."

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Twelve months on and, as Mr Burnham chaired a meeting of the Rail North Committee last week, he told Northern boss Tricia Williams the reg

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