I was one of hundreds of passengers caught up in travel chaos on the journey home to Liverpool last night.
In the time it would take you to fly direct from the UK to Dubai, I managed to get by train from Newcastle to Liverpool. This seemingly endless journey will be all too familiar for regular train users and commuters, who have their patience tested on a daily basis.
But this is the reality of what it's really like trying to travel between two major Northern cities on public transport - and why we deserve better.
READ MORE: Words we should all worry about as Rishi Sunak becomes the new Prime Minister
I arrive at Newcastle station at 3.30pm on Sunday to find train after train cancelled or delayed between Liverpool, Manchester and other northern cities. With all direct Transpennine Express trains to Liverpool Lime Street cancelled, I'd planned to travel home via Carlisle and Wigan instead.
However, I soon realise Northern have issued a "do not travel notice" to people travelling between Newcastle and Carlisle following a derailed train. The train company tweeted on Sunday: "Unfortunately we are advising customers not to travel between these stations on 23/10 as we are unable to source road replacement following disruption involving a derailed train."
I'm left with no other option but to change my plans for a third time and travel via York and Manchester instead.
As I arrive into Manchester Piccadilly at 7.15pm, I'm met with further delays. I'm told I can get a Northern rail replacement bus if I wish, but it will take three hours to get to Liverpool Lime Street, so I decide to wait until my delayed train arrives.
I'm standing on the platform as an announcement on the tannoy tells us the East Midlands Railway train to Lime Street is delayed due to a signalling issue. We're advised to head outside and get a rail replacement bus, but there's no sign of any staff or even a bus driver when we get there.
As hundreds of people join a queue outside the station, we look at our phones to find the delayed train we'd been waiting for has arrived and left without us. People are in genuine disbelief at the lack of communication or advice from station staff as we try to figure out how we are going to get home.
One man turns to me and says "this is an actual nightmare", while a woman who has also travelled from Newcastle is panicking that we're going to be left stranded overnight.
When contacted by the ECHO, East Midlands Railway said it didn't order a rail replacement bus and the train arrived 42 minutes late into Liverpool due to signalling issues. Network Rail apologised for the "short notice changes to trains caused confusion and saw some passengers advised to get a rail replacement bus service when their train was in fact running."
It's thanks to the kindness of strangers that I finally managed to get a train home last night, as passengers pulled together to work out what our best option was. We caught a train to Manchester Oxford Road before changing onto a Northern train to Liverpool Lime Street that was scheduled to leave at 20.46. Unsurprisingly, that train was also delayed.
After a painfully long and broken up journey, I arrived into Liverpool Lime Street at 10.16pm - nearly seven hours after I first set off.
Engineering work, signalling issues, higher-than-normal sickness levels, and a training backlog as a direct result of Covid, were among the reasons train operators gave for the delays to a journey that should have taken just over three hours.
But as Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said at a press conference this weekend, "we're not second class citizens in the north so we shouldn't have a second class rail system."
And with Liverpool set to host Eurovision in a matter of months, it's never been more important that people can travel easily into the city.
What Network Rail and the train operators had to say
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to passengers that they didn’t get the service they expect or deserve while travelling through Manchester Piccadilly yesterday evening. It’s after a staffing issue at our signal box in Stockport led to trains being cancelled, diverted or delayed.
“We’re also sorry that the resulting short notice changes to trains caused confusion and saw some passengers advised to get a rail replacement bus service when their train was in fact running. We understand how frustrating this is and are looking into how we can better share information to our frontline station staff when situations are constantly changing during times of unexpected disruption.”
Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, said: “Due to planned engineering work, we were unable to operate services between Manchester and Liverpool that call via Newton-le-Willows on Sunday 23 October. We were, however, able to operate all but one of our hourly services from Manchester to Liverpool that operate via Warrington. We apologise to anyone whose journeys were inconvenienced.”
A spokesperson for TransPennine Express said: “Prior to December 2021 TransPennine Express (TPE) had posted its best ever performance results, and was subsequently recognised as “Train Operator of the Year” at the Rail Business Awards.
“Since then, prolonged disruption affecting our services has been caused by a range of issues including ongoing high levels of train crew sickness, a persisting training backlog as a direct result of Covid, and infrastructure issues outside of TPE’s control. Combined, these factors have seen a number of on-the-day or ‘evening before’ cancellations being made.
“In normal circumstances, we have enough people to fully operate our scheduled timetable – and have more drivers now than ever before – however the combination of factors has put unprecedented pressure on our ability to effectively operate our services.
“Our customers want, and deserve, reliable and punctual train services, and we are sorry have not been able to consistently provide that due to the ongoing issues. TPE’s team continues to work flat-out to deliver higher levels of service delivery and to tackle the issues that are being experienced by customers.”
READ NEXT:
Mum who played key role in £2million crime ring ordered to pay back just £1
Injuries caused to teen 'kicked unconscious' by thugs near Anfield
Man who threw tin of dog food at girlfriend rants 'this is all lies' in court
Train passenger 'praised' for 'refusing to give up' first-class seat to elderly lady
Words we should all worry about as Rishi Sunak becomes the new Prime Minister
