Trust is a precious value that is difficult to earn and easily frittered away and it is good to see the bosses of failing train companies in the North acknowledge the damage that they have done to their relationship with passengers.

The past few months have shown that train companies such as TransPennine Express (TPE), Northern and Avanti West Coast cannot be trusted.

There has been a countless number of passengers who will have been late for appointments, meetings and social engagements. Some may have not been able to get to their destination at all.

Matthew Golton, managing director of TPE, admits passengers have been “let down” in recent months by a poor service.

He added: “We have been very, very clear that what we have to do over the next few months is get this timetable performing more reliably and make significant inroads to reduce the number of cancellations.”

Mr Golton also told MPs that TPE has more drivers than ever but the loss of rest-day working, the training backlog, industrial action and preparations for disruption caused by the Transpennine Route Upgrade have “hobbled” its ability to make progress.

The time for excuses is over. Passengers are at their wits end and it's incumbent on rail companies to get a grip of the situation.

If they are unable to do so, then the Government needs to intervene. Would Westminster have allowed the chaos to continue had London and the South East faced this level of disruption?

As Lord Patrick Mcloughlin, chair of Transport for the North, said services have gone into “meltdown” and the disruption is currently costing the Northern economy around £8m a week. It shows just how badly the region has been impacted by the widespread disruption on our railways.

Train companies have a long way to go to win the trust of passengers back - The Yorkshire Post says