I consider myself very fortunate that I no longer have to get the train to work.

As happy as I was to have a job (in central Manchester) my daily commute was invariably a nightmare.

This was pre-pandemic but I can say hand on heart I never had one single journey that could be classed as pleasant. And every single one of those totally rubbish journeys was on a Northern train.

Theoretically I could have got up 30 minutes later and caught a train which should have got me into Manchester just in time to walk from either Oxford Road or Piccadilly stations and be at my desk without being late.

I tried that one week and I was late every single day. So much for sticking to the timetable.

As a result, I had to get up to catch an earlier train. What a joy that was. It was frequently cancelled on the flimsiest of excuses.

But worse was the fact it was almost always ‘short-formed’ with the train being made up of two carriages instead of four.

Imagine that. A train that would have been full with four carriages having to fit all those people into just two carriages.

By the time it reached my station, it was already completely rammed. Forcing your way onto a dangerously overcrowded train is not an ideal way to start the day by any stretch of the imagination.

I got closer to some of those fellow travellers than to any other human beings, and I would include my wife and family in that.

I had more colds in the winter of 2019-20 than any other time in my life, which is hardly surprising when I was jammed up face-to-face with sniffling, coughing, sneezing commuters.

If going into work was bad, coming home was no better. Being allowed to work from home was an absolute godsend. Incidentally, one of the more pleasant side-effects is the fact I haven’t had a cold since February 2020.

I mention this after reading that Northwich man Tony Plumbley has been hired by Northern to help improve the performance and maintenance of its trains. That’s a big job to take on and no mistake.

Mr Plumbley told the Guardian: “Northern has an ambitious programme of fleet upgrades in the pipeline and I look forward to working with their teams across the north of England to deliver those for the business and ultimately for our customers to enjoy.”

Apparently, Mr Plumbley, who is leaving Merseyrail, will manage major fleet projects and ‘performance enhancement schemes’ aimed at improving the maintenance and performance of Northern’s rolling stock.

Good luck Mr Plumbley. As a former passenger who has absolutely no desire to ever set foot on one of your commuter trains ever again, I really hope you succeed in your quest to improve Northern’s performance. It’s no more than your customers deserve.

On another topic, I notice the future of policing in Cheshire is back on the agenda after a war of words between Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer (who stood as a Conservative in the PPC election) and Labour’s Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury.

The row centres on the 4.4 per cent hike on the Cheshire Police precept and he is also against the PCC’s proposal to axe 11 police station helpdesks, including Runcorn, and install a video facility at Northwich station.

And he also doesn’t like the plan to slash PCSO numbers across the county by almost 40.

Mr Amesbury hit out, saying: “The PCC supports all these cuts at the same time as asking each household for an extra £10 per year on the police precept.

"It’s an audacious move. You pay more and get less."

Needless to say, Mr Dwyer hit back, saying: "The budget I set for next year includes 120 more police officers, meaning that Cheshire will have the highest number of officers it has ever had on its current boundaries.

"We’ll also be hiring 63 more frontline support staff for key teams.

"We’ll be putting more staff in the control room to take 101 and 999 calls and there will also be further investment in our force intelligence, serious and organised crime, and major investigations teams.”

I quite like PCSOs and will be sorry to see so many go. They tend to be rooted in the communities they serve and are perfectly placed to spot trouble before it starts. It will be a shame to lose them.

But if we are really looking for a way to save money for our police force, how about getting rid of the PCC, his deputy and back-office staff and go back to the old system of police oversight by representative committee. That would save a few quid.