As concerts go, the journeys to and from can be quite stressful. With huge crowds and traffic to contend with, a fraction of the time involved is spent at the venue itself.
Throw in a trip to another country and there's an extra level of worry - mainly how to get there and back without chaos ensuing.
I say another country, but it shouldn't be too tricky getting from Manchester to Edinburgh and back in this day and age, or so I thought.
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So when my daughter and her friend wanted to go and watch Harry Styles at Murrayfield Stadium on Friday, I decided the easiest option would be via train.
The journey there from Manchester Piccadilly was uneventful. A slight delay, a platform change, but nothing too troublesome. We were there within plenty of time to see the former One Direction frontman take to the stage in front a sell-out crowd.
Getting back to our B&B wasn't as easy. With no phone signal, traffic at a standstill and lots of frustrated taxi drivers unable to move, we eventually boarded a bus - and then another bus - to get back to our guesthouse around midnight.
After a day spent in the city centre we were more than ready for home when we boarded our train at Waverley station to Manchester Victoria at 7pm on Saturday (27 May).
As we relaxed in our seats for the four-and-a-half-hour journey ahead, with no changes planned, all was well.
But around 90 minutes in, you could hear passengers muttering as we all began to receive alerts on our phones about cancelled trains. There was already one woman in tears at the front of the train as she had just 14p in her bank account and no other way of getting home.
Surely this couldn't happen? Not when we're already on board. But yes, the driver eventually made an announcement that we all needed to get off in Newcastle.
He had no idea why and had 'only just been told'. You could tell from the tone of his voice he was just as frustrated as we were. The app put it down to 'a short-notice change to the timetable'.
We were ordered to join a queue outside the station for replacement transport, which very quickly became a line of around 200 people, with no real idea on what was happening.
First we were told there would be eight-seater taxis to our original destinations. Then we were told the taxis would take us to York and we'd then be told what would happen next.
"We've got an hour to get a plan together", I was told by one of the LNER staff helping to manage the situation, including supporting a couple with a toddler who needed a car seat.
I wasn't prepared to start travelling through the night with two exhausted girls who needed their beds, so decided to check into the nearby Holiday Inn instead, which of course was more expensive than usual booking on a Saturday evening at short notice.
It turns out that our train journey was one of the final trips by FirstGroup-managed TransPennine Express before a planned government takeover of the troubled operator on Sunday.
Earlier this month, the Transport Secretary announced he would not renew or extend their contract because of the high number of cancellations and delays.
Instead, the state-owned operator of last resort (OLR) would take control instead.
Whether this played a part in our disastrous journey I'm yet to find out, but what I do know is that our railways really are a joke - and after forking out more than £300 for the hotel and fresh train tickets for Sunday, I'm paying the price.
I'm not surprised motorists are reluctant to leave their cars at home when this is the alternative.
Yes it may not always be this extreme, but it's clear that what train passengers now have is a service that's simply not fit for purpose.
Announcing the OLR takeover, the Department for Transport said: "The decision follows months of significant disruption and regular cancellations across TransPennine Express’s network, which has resulted in a considerable decline in confidence for passengers who rely on the trains to get to work, visit family and friends and go about their daily lives.
"Alongside the train operating company, the Department for Transport (DfT) has 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 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."
Transport Secretary Mark Harper, who has asked all interested parties including the northern mayors and Transport for the North to engage with the government on a review of services in the north, has also called on unions to drop the planned strikes taking place on May 31 and June 2 and 3.
"In my time as Transport Secretary, I have been clear that passenger experience must always come first," he said. "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 7-day working week.
"We have played our part, but ASLEF now need 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."
A spokesperson for TransPennine Express said: "Due to earlier service disruption and subsequent lack of driver availability on Saturday night, the 7.03pm Edinburgh to Manchester service terminated at Newcastle at 8.49pm."
She said another train was later added to the schedule, stating: "We worked with colleagues from LNER to assist customers and people were advised to continue their journey to York on the additional 10pm LNER service, where they were met by station staff to help with onward travel and taxis."
Customers who were affected by the disruption can contact TransPennine via the website.
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