Mayors say train company is 'not fit for purpose' and services must be nationalised

Speaking at Convention of the North 2023 in Manchester, the Labour mayors said the operator, which is owned by First Group, has forced passengers across the North to endure months of severe disruption by cancelling thousands of services at short-notice.

The latest figures also show TransPennine Express (TPE) had one of the worst punctuality records in the country between July and September last year, as just over half (55.8 per cent) of its trains ran on time.

TPE has been struggling with driver shortages in recent months, as they have stopped volunteering to work on rest days and the training programme for new recruits was disrupted by the pandemic. Industrial action and high levels of staff sickness have also caused issues.

The operator’s contract to run services in the North is due to expire in May and the Government must decide whether that contract should be renewed or its Operator of Last Resort should step in and take over.

But South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram and Mayor of the North of Tyne Jamie Driscoll want TPE to be stripped of its contract immediatley.

At the conference, Mr Burnham highlighted figures which show the operator cancelled 18,587 services between November 2021 and December 2022.

The Labour mayor added: “We are in a position where we can’t accept it anymore. We can’t allow them to damage our economy day after day. We can’t allow them to damage people’s lives day after day.

“There has to come a point where we say we can’t accept it anymore and we are at that point.”

The Government’s Operator of Last Resort already runs Northern Trains and Mr Burnham said that if it took on TPE services too, local leaders could “positively work with the Government to reshape a railway that works for us”.

Ms Brabin said the North is being “held back” by poor transport, and the “unacceptable” disruption on the railways is costing the region’s economy £8m a week.

She added: “We are saying collectively: TPE is not fit for purpose, it must lose its franchise. We have to get that connectivity sorted.”

In the House of Commons, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced further calls to strip TPE of its rail contract from Tory MPs.

Jason McCartney, MP for Colne Valley, said there are “dozens of daily rail service cancellations” which are “causing absolute misery for my constituents”.

Mr Sunak said: “We have been clear that the current service is simply not acceptable. Rail North Partnership is working with the company on a service improvement plan, and my honourable friend, the rail minister, is having weekly meetings with them.”

He added: “The TPE contract does expire in May, and whilst there are currently discussions about that new contract, if ministers conclude that the operator cannot be turned around then other decisions may be made.”

A TPE spokeswoman said the service it is providing is “unacceptable at present” but staff are “doing all we can to resolve a number of issues”.

She added: “Prolonged disruption has been caused by a combination of ongoing high levels of sickness and an unprecedented training backlog following the pandemic, coupled with increased training demands to support major route and timetable upgrades, together with the withdrawal from overtime working by ASLEF drivers which has dramatically reduced our roster flexibility.

“The biggest and most immediate positive impact for customers would be for ASLEF to allow drivers to work overtime again.

"Late last year we were given authority from DfT to make a new overtime offer but this was rejected by ASLEF without putting it to their members.

"The offer remains on the table and we encourage everyone who can influence the situation to work together to improve the situation for all.”