Rail services on routes operated by Northern are to be brought under public control.
The Department for Transport will shortly announce that it is putting the Government-controlled Operator of Last Resort (OLR) in charge of running services.
The chaotic introduction of new timetables in May 2018 saw hundreds of Northern trains a day cancelled.
Punctuality and reliability problems continue to blight the network.
German-based Arriva was due to run Northern until March 2025.
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