A group of business leaders and politicians have urgedthe government to give the north of England control over its rail system following weeks of train chaos.

A letter signed by the leaders of most northern councils, tourist bosses and business people including Gary Neville – warns the government that the “current fiasco” could be repeated if Transport for the North (TfN), which advises the government on northern transport, is not given the power to improve the railways.

“Over the past two weeks in the north of England we have seen an unacceptable level of cancelled and delayed trains. Travellers have missed vital appointments and been given written warnings at work; businesses have struggled to cope; and public services have been put under strain. Anger is mounting,” they write.

Calling on the government to grant TfN full powers to manage all northern infrastructure, they argue that “only by TfN being accountable for the performance of Network Rail and the train companies can the north truly take control of its own destiny. Without greater authority TfN will not be able to supervise delivery of the north’s first strategic transport plan and avoid repeats of the current fiasco.”

Despite having an annual budget of £80m, TfN has minimal powers to improve transport infrastructure. Unlike Transport for London, its counterpart in the capital, it cannot commission or run services, and instead comes up with suggestions for the transport secretary.

All it can do is fund pan-northern projects, and in 2018-19 has set aside almost £50m for the development of a smart ticketing system that will work across counties and operators. A further £18m will go towards developing Northern Powerhouse Rail, a new Transpennine rail line.

TfN has no power over the private rail operating companies, such as Arriva North, a subsidiary of the German national railway, which has cancelled165 daily services and temporarily closed the entire Lake District line after being unprepared for the introduction of a new timetable last month.

On Monday, an additional 15 Northern services were part- or fully cancelled, and 21 services ran with a reduced number of carriages.