After months of disruption and cancellations, the Government will take over the Transpennine Express which runs trains from Liverpool to Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle. Tony McDonough reports
Trains between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle will come under Government control from May 28.
On Thursday Transport Secretary Mark Harper said FirstGroup-owned TPE would not see its contract to run the Transpennine Express renewed when it expires on that date. The Department of Transport (DfT) will now become the operator of last resort (OLR).
Passengers and politicians have been calling for change for months following a deterioration of the service. Frequent delays and cancellations had caused huge disruption for passengers, many of whom use the service to get to and from work.
Partly blaming train drivers union Aslef for the problems, Mr Harper said: “After months of commuters and Northern businesses bearing the brunt of continuous cancellations, I’ve made the decision to bring Transpennine Express into OTR.
“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.
“This once again highlights why it’s so important that the railways move to a seven-day working week.
“We have played our part, but ASLEF now needs to play theirs by calling off strikes and the rest day working ban, putting the very fair and reasonable pay offer to a democratic vote of their members.”
Alongside the train operating company, the DfT said it had taken steps to improve services, putting the operator on a recovery plan in February and meeting with local mayors to discuss a way forward.
While it insisted some improvements had been made over the past few months, the DfT decided it had no choice but to take the service under state control.
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Mr Harper said problems include a backlog of recruitment and training drivers, reforming how the workforce operates and most notably, ASLEF’s decision to withdraw rest day working – preventing drivers from taking on overtime shifts and filling in gaps on services.
Under OTR, services will run as normal with no changes to tickets, timetables or planned services with the department committed to ensuring a seamless transition for passengers.
FirstGroup chief executive, Graham Sutherland, added: “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.”
Liverpool City Region Metro, Mayor, Steve, Rotherham, said: “For far too long, towns and cities across the north have been held back by a fragmented, mismanaged and broken transport system that simply does not work in their interests.
“While some may see today’s decision to strip TPE of its franchise as a victory for the north, it will only be deemed so if the Government now acts in good faith and delivers on its promise to work with northern mayors to ensure the next operator is chosen in the best interests of those who we will always put first passengers.
“Poor rail performance has cost economies across the north billions of pounds through the loss of productivity and inflicted months of sustained misery for ordinary, hard-working northerners and businesses
“We in the north are not second-class citizens and we refuse to accept a second-class rail service. Today we have sent a clear message to other operators there will be no reward for manifest failure.”