The Pain of rail passengers in the North must be heard

06 March 2023

The Pain of rail passengers in the North must be heard

Northern commuters have been warned today (Monday 6 March) that without improvement, TransPennine Express could cancel 23,000 journeys this year.

The Mayor of West Yorkshire has slammed the failing operator’s performance and called on Ministers to get a grip and end the suffering of passengers in the North of England.

Official data from the Office of Road and Rail shows that TransPennine Express cancelled 1,781 services during the last four-week reporting period - representing almost a quarter of all their trains between January 8 and February 4 2023.

This represented 10% of all cancellations in England and Wales during that time, despite the company only running less than 2% of all services. Analysis by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has found that without improvement this will mean a total of 23,153 cancellations over the course of 2023.

When asked when passengers will feel improvements by West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin last month, First Group’s rail chief Steve Montgomery, owner of TransPennine Express, said that passengers must continue suffering through the “pain barrier”.

The operator, which runs services from Leeds and Huddersfield to Manchester, Liverpool, Scarborough, Hull and Newcastle, has often seen a third of its services cancelled on a given day. This follows a meltdown in services by the company in 2019, which required a recovery plan to be put in place.

Speaking ahead of the Transport for the North conference in Newcastle today (Monday 6 March), Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said:

“Without improvement there could be an appalling 23,000 cancellations inflicted on Northern rail commuters this year by TransPennine Express.

“This is shocking and the government must hear our calls, finally get a grip and bring this situation under control.

“A full-functioning public transport network is crucial to our plans to boost the economy, achieve our climate ambitions and provide people with the opportunity to get on in life.

“Without action people will lose jobs, youngsters will fail exams, and the Northern economy will go off the rails.”

The Department for Transport is currently examining the details of a recovery plan produced by TransPennine Express, after Ministers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, conceded that its performance had not been acceptable in recent months.

The company’s current contract ends in May, and government officials are also considering whether to offer it a new 8-year deal to continue operating services.

Commenting on this, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin added:

“People in the North need action right now. I spoke to the rail minister Huw Merriman last week and he understands the challenges and the need to bring people together to find a solution.

“But, with current levels of service from TransPennine Express, it would be unthinkable for the Government to renew their contract for another eight years. 

“We need trains operated by a safe pair of hands to see us through the inevitable disruption that the vitally important Transpennine Route Upgrade will bring in the next few years.”