TransPennine Express lost the Government’s confidence - Huw Merriman

We’ve seen a lack of overtime working, driver shortages, and training backlogs of 4,000 days and counting. We have not sat idly by. We have kept a close eye on the situation and have seen how relations between the operator and driver union Aslef have broken down.

To address that position, a recovery plan was put in place. But the position has not recovered sufficiently, and we simply do not have the confidence we need that the current operator can get back on track. So, not renewing or extending TPE’s contract was the right thing to do. A resetting can help restore passenger confidence and deliver the reliable network the Northern economy needs.

This is a decision that many have called for – unions, northern mayors, and MPs across the region.

I ask all of them to work with me to fix the underlying problems and to engage in a process of reviewing services across the North to help improve performance.

Change will not occur overnight. Real improvement will take time and it will be built, not on unconstructive political differences, but on the work of partnership.

TPE can be better, it’s in all our gift – union leaders, politicians and others with influence across the North. And stronger, more reliable rail links will bring a boost to businesses, grow our economy and accelerate levelling up plans throughout the country.

Now more than ever, it is important that rail services improve. Sadly, we can expect more disruption caused by unions over the next few days and beyond.

The strike action by the RMT and Aslef cannot be in their members’ interests, nor the passengers they claim to serve. The timing is cynical.

Stifling the joyful scenes of the first Eurovision in Britain for 25 years, hosted for the people of Ukraine and welcoming Ukrainians displaced by Putin’s war.

This also risks driving passengers away from the railway, ultimately putting the industry’s very future at risk. This is not in the interests of rail workers or passengers.

The experience of TPE passengers tells us all we need to know. They deserve – all passengers deserve – a reliable seven-day railway instead of enduring Aslef’s ongoing industrial action.

So I urge both the RMT and Aslef leadership to give their members a say on the fair and reasonable offer they’ve been made, and to get a deal done.

It’s time to bring these disputes to an end, secure a long-term future for Britain’s railway, and do the right thing for passengers.

Huw Merriman is a Minister of State for Rail and HS2 at the Department for Transport. Before his ministerial career, he sat on the Transport Select Committee, and served as its Chair between 2020 and 2022.