TROUBLED train operator Northern Rail – which runs services on the Tyne Valley Line – is being taken into public ownership, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed.

In a statement, Mr Shapps said: "I am announcing today that from March 1 the Northern Rail franchise will be taken into public ownership and the government will begin operating services through the public-sector operator – the so-called operator of last resort.

"The public-sector operator is a company entirely owned by my department and run by experienced railway managers.

"It already owns and oversees another franchise, East Coast, which it brands as London North Eastern Railway."

Mick Cash, general secretary of Britain's largest rail union RMT, said: “Northern has become a signal for everything that is wrong on Britain's broken, privatised railways and the fact that the Government have now been forced to take this action today will open the floodgates towards wholesale public ownership of our railways as other franchises fall like dominoes or simply choose to cut and run in the face of the inevitable.

“The return of Northern to the public domain, joining the East Coast Main Line, should not be seen as a short term fix and a holding operation pending another punt on another bunch of private speculators. This has to be a permanent move followed up with the investment and planning needed to deliver the rail services that passengers deserve after years of privatised chaos."

The ailing franchise has been repeatedly criticised for cancellations and delays across the north in recent years. There is also a bitter and ongoing dispute with the RMT over plans to remove guards from some services.

Earlier this month, Northern Rail announced a £100m project to fully refurbish 268 diesel and electric trains.

As recently as December last year, Transport for the North blasted Northern after dozens of trains were cancelled between Christmas Eve and December 27.

Barry White, chief executive of Transport for the North, said: “Our hard-pressed passengers have been calling for action for some time – as have our members.

"Now, at last, we have the chance of a fresh start. Action has been taken and we can move forward.

"This new initiative must put passengers first and provide a reliable rail service that rebuilds trust that has been lost.”