Northern defends 'storm over-reaction' as Glossop trains cancelled

Passengers have voiced anger and frustration after Northern suspended all train services to Glossop in what many have described as an ‘unnecessary over-reaction'.

All trains from Manchester to Glossop were cancelled from 4.33pm on Thursday 8 January, with services initially suspended for the whole of the following day. The decision was taken on Wednesday 7 January in anticipation of Storm Goretti, despite little or no snowfall materialising in the Glossop area.  

With no significant snow falling locally, Northern restarted train services on Friday at around 12.30pm, leaving many passengers questioning why the entire line had been closed for so long in the first place.  

Commuters say the cancellations forced rail passengers onto already congested roads, causing noticeably heavier traffic during Friday’s morning rush hour.  

Social media was awash with criticism following the cancellations. One commenter described the decision as “a ridiculous over-reaction,” while another said, “It’s shocking they are allowed to make major decisions like this based on speculation.”  

Residents raised serious concerns about accountability and long-term planning, questioning what resilience measures exist to prevent repeated disruption for the thousands who rely on the line every day.  

The Glossop Chronicle contacted Northern to ask for an explanation. In a joint statement with Network Rail, a spokesperson said:  

“The decision to suspend services is never taken lightly. With heavy snow forecast as part of Storm Goretti and an amber warning in place, we took the collective decision to close a number of lines as a precaution.  

“We understand how frustrating it is when trains aren’t able to run due to bad weather. While the worst of the forecast weather did not fully materialise, decisions like this are based on the best information available at the time, based on the expert guidance from the Met Office and our operational teams.  

“Getting the train service up and running after disruption is complex, but we quickly started to run services again where we could. We’d like to thank customers for their patience.”  

Passengers, however, say the explanation does little to reassure those who depend on the line daily for work, education and essential travel. Many argue that precautionary suspensions should be a last resort and that running reduced or closely monitored services would have been a more proportionate response.  

As services resume, calls are growing for clearer criteria around cancellations and greater transparency over how weather-related decisions are made, to ensure Glossop and surrounding communities are not left stranded again by forecasts that fail to materialise.