TransPennine Express services will be brought under Government control

TransPennine Express train services will be brought under Government control due to ‘continuous cancellations’, Transport Secretary reveals

• TPE passengers have suffered from widespread delays and cancellations
• FirstGroup-owned operator covers area across North and into Scotland

Train services run by TransPennine Express (TPE) will be brought under Government control due to ‘continuous cancellations’, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said.

The Cabinet minister has decided not to extend or renew TPE’s contract, bringing services in to the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort from May 28.

TPE passengers have suffered from widespread delays and cancellations over the past year.

The FirstGroup-owned operator, which covers an area across northern England and into Scotland, has been badly affected by drivers who are members of the Aslef union no longer volunteering to work paid overtime shifts.

Watchdog Transport Focus said passengers have ‘endured an unacceptable service for too long’ while West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin declared it was ‘absolutely right that this is the end of the line’ for what she described as a ‘failing railway operator’. 

The Operator of Last Resort already runs London North Eastern Railway, Northern and Southeastern services. 

Train services run by TransPennine Express will be brought under Government control

Latest figures show TPE cancelled the equivalent of one in six services across most of March.

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Mr Harper warned that the decision to bring services into the OLR is ‘not a silver bullet’.

He said: ‘In my time as Transport Secretary, I have been clear that passenger experience must always come first.

‘After months of commuters and northern businesses bearing the brunt of continuous cancellations, I’ve made the decision to bring TransPennine Express into Operator of Last Resort.

‘This is not a silver bullet and will not instantaneously fix a number of challenges being faced, including Aslef’s actions which are preventing TransPennine Express from being able to run a full service – once again highlighting why it’s so important that the railways move to a seven-day working week.’ 

He added that the DfT has ‘played our part but Aslef now need to play theirs’ by calling off strikes and the ban on rest day working, and ‘putting the very fair and reasonable pay offer to a democratic vote of their members’.

The DfT put the operator on a recovery plan in February after meeting local mayors to discuss a way forward.

The department said: ‘While some improvements have been made over the past few months, it has been decided that to achieve the performance levels passengers deserve, and that the northern economy needs, both the contract and the underlying relationships must be reset.’

It added: ‘The decision to bring TransPennine Express into the control of the Operator of Last Resort is temporary and it is the Government’s full intention that it will return to the private sector.’

The FirstGroup-owned operator covers an area across northern England and into Scotland

Bev Craig, the head of Manchester City Council, said: ‘Finally the Government have opted not to reward failure as Transpennine Express is brought under public control.

What went wrong with TransPennine Express and what happens next?

Train services run by TransPennine Express will be brought under Government control later this month.

Here are 10 key questions about what happened and what comes next.

– What is TransPennine Express?

A train operator running intercity services across northern England and into Scotland.

– How bad has its performance been?

Cancellations and delays have been widespread for several months.

The equivalent of nearly one in four trains were axed in the four weeks to March 4.

– What has caused this?

A series of issues including drivers no longer volunteering to work paid overtime shifts and higher than usual staff sickness levels.

– What has been announced?

The Department for Transport said control of TransPennine Express services will come under its Operator of Last Resort from May 28, making them nationalised.

– What has been the reaction?

West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin said it was ‘absolutely right’.

But the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership claimed it will make ‘very limited difference’ to disruption on the rail network. 

– Will services improve?

Transport Secretary Mark Harper warned the decision is ‘not a silver bullet’ and urged drivers’ union Aslef to call off strikes and end the ban on rest day working.

– Will tickets still be valid?

Yes. The announcement does not affect ticket validity or prices.

– Will passengers notice the change?

Not immediately. The Operator of Last Resort will use the same trains and employ the same staff.

It remains to be seen if performance alters.

– What is the Operator of Last Resort?

A Government company that runs passenger services after contracts with private operators end and there is no immediate replacement.

– What services are already run this way?

London North Eastern Railway, Northern and Southeastern.

‘After years of misery for commuters in the North, this is the right call – but had they listened to our calls should have happened sooner.’

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said: ‘It is absolutely right that this is the end of the line for failing railway operator TransPennine Express.

‘We’ve been urging government to act for almost a year, as delays and cancellations have damaged our economy and subjected commuters in the North to sheer misery.

‘This is a victory for northern mayors who rallied together to hold TransPennine Express and Rishi Sunak’s Government to account on this issue.

‘We hope this allows an opportunity to reset relationships with staff who have bore the brunt of operator failings and look forward to hearing how the new operator intends to improve services.

‘As the voice of passengers, I will continue to speak up for their interests first and foremost.’

She also said that TPE losing its contract was ‘absolutely right’ due to a ‘catalogue of failure’ causing ‘sheer misery’.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, she said: ‘It’s just been a catalogue of failure and delays and cancellations.

‘It’s absolutely right that this is the end of the line for the failing railway operator TransPennine.

‘We’ve been urging Government to act for over a year. All these cancellations are just damaging our economy and causing sheer misery.

‘It is a victory for northern mayors standing together.’

Asked whether the failure to strike a pay deal between the train drivers’ union and Government was to blame for TPE’s delays and cancellations, Ms Brabin called for the Government to ‘get around the table’.

‘Industrial relations are at absolute rock bottom, there’s no doubt about it,’ she told BBC Radio 4.

‘Government has to take a lead on this. They’ve got to put their shoulder to the wheel, get around the table and sort this out with Operator of Last Resort.’

Ms Brabin also claimed TPE trains are unsafe, with people ‘rammed in like cattle’.

She said: ‘It’s not just about money, it’s also about safety. I’ve been on trains where staff have been taking photographs of the overcrowding.

‘They’re saying: ‘We’re really worried that somebody’s going to be hurt.’ The trains are too short … People are rammed in like cattle.’

Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: ‘TransPennine Express passengers have endured an unacceptable service for too long.

‘In our latest survey, TransPennine Express was rated the joint worst performing train operator and just 67 per cent of passengers were satisfied with how punctual their journey was.

‘Whichever organisation runs TransPennine Express rail services – under whatever contractual arrangements – passengers will want to see a much more reliable service.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he has decided not to extend or renew TPE’s contract

‘It’s clear that passengers deserve better and the operator needs to take action to improve performance and build back passenger trust.’

‘We’re not holding our breath’ for immediate change, say TPE users

Frustrated passengers outside Leeds station recounted tales of months of last-minute cancellations causing havoc, but said they were ‘not holding their breath’ for any immediate change.

Carl Heaton, 32, from Leeds, said: ‘I’m a regular TPE customer and have the battle scars to prove it.

‘It’s often just a lottery whether there’s a train comes or not, to be honest.

‘It’s the right thing to do but should have been done a long while ago. I can’t really see how anyone can turn it round quickly, though.’

Trish Howard, 44, from York, said: ‘The whole system across the north has been a mess for years now.

‘Something had to be done but it’s a big job for someone. I’m guessing whoever takes over isn’t going to sort it out overnight, so I’m not holding my breath that it’ll get any better.’

Responding to the announcement on TPE, Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: ‘This broken service has comprehensively failed the North.

‘After months of needless damage, Conservative ministers have finally accepted they can no longer defend the indefensible.

‘But this endless cycle of shambolic private operators failing passengers shows the Conservatives’ rail system is fundamentally broken.

‘The next Labour government will end this sticking plaster politics by bringing our railways back into public ownership as contracts expire, ending the Tories’ failing system, and putting passengers back at the heart of our rail network.’

And Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, hit out at Mr Harper for making ‘misleading’ comments in relation to TPE.

He said: ‘While we are delighted that the Transport Secretary has, at last, done the right thing and cancelled the lucrative contract of this failing rail company, we are disappointed that he is trying to blame Aslef rather than the company’s inept management for its many problems.

‘TPE (TransPennine Express) management is famous throughout the railway industry for its confrontational approach.’

He added: ‘TPE – which is run by FirstGroup, which is also responsible for Avanti West Coast and all its problems on the West Coast main line – has never employed enough drivers to deliver the services it promised to run.

‘It has failed to recruit, and retain, the drivers it needs. It has abused staff, tried to take away our terms and conditions, and tried to force through changes rather than negotiate like grown-ups.

‘That’s why the company has, frankly, got exactly what it deserves today.’

Meanwhile the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership claimed the Government’s refusal to renew the contract of TPE will make ‘very limited difference’ to disruption on the rail network.

Graham Sutherland, chief executive of TransPennine Express owner FirstGroup, said the ‘team have worked extremely hard to improve services, including by recruiting and training more drivers than ever before’

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Henri Murison called on the Government to resolve pay disputes with rail unions.

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He said: ‘I think, sadly, it will make probably only a very limited difference. We need a resolution to the national pay deal.

‘We’ve been left with a legacy where millions of pounds a week are being knocked off the northern economy.

‘I genuinely want to celebrate some good news. But I just don’t think this is going to make the lives of me and others better.

‘What we want is the industrial issues solved. That is the only way to get this to be better.’

Mr Murison also called on the Government to fix train cancellations and delays in the short term to achieve its levelling-up ambitions.

He said: ‘We want to see Northern Powerhouse Rail delivered in full.

‘But it’s very hard for me to say to business leaders that we’re going to transform northern productivity and grow the labour market of cities like Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield by improving connectivity when so many of the trains are pretty slow and unreliable.

‘They look at me and say: ‘We can’t really use the existing service, why on earth are you talking about something in 10 years?”

Graham Sutherland, chief executive of TPE owner FirstGroup, said: ‘We have operated TransPennine Express and its forerunners since 2004, and are very proud to have served the communities across northern England and into Scotland, carrying millions of passengers and introducing new trains, new routes and more seats for our customers.

‘Our team have worked extremely hard to improve services, including by recruiting and training more drivers than ever before.

The Operator of Last Resort already runs services on the Southeastern network (file image)

‘We have also worked closely with the Department for Transport and Transport for the North on an agreed recovery plan as well as an improved offer on overtime working for our drivers.

‘FirstGroup is a leading UK rail operator with a strong and diversified portfolio.

‘Today’s decision does not alter our belief in the important role of private rail operators in the delivery of vital, environmentally-friendly transport for customers and communities across the UK.’

A TPE spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that today the Secretary of State has announced that the operation of the TransPennine Express service will transfer to a new Government operator – DOHL – on 28 May 2023.

‘All tickets remain valid and customers should continue to use and purchase tickets in the normal manner.

‘Further communications relating to TransPennine Trains Ltd as a DOHL operator will be made after the transfer takes place on 28 May 2023.’

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