A train operator will cancel more than 23,000 services this year if reliability continues at its current levels, new analysis reveals as the mayor of Greater Manchester called for urgent 'change' and rail fares rise.
The figure for under-fire TransPennine Express (TPE) was released by West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin, who urged the Government to 'get a grip' as the annual conference of Transport for the North (TfN) started in Newcastle today, Monday. The Manchester Evening News revealed TPE cancelled almost a quarter of all its trains in a month, including more than 1,000 the night before they were due to run.
The operator, which has now revealed a 'recovery plan' has been submitted to the Government, ranked the highest of all train operating companies in terms of cancellations by some distance in the figures published by rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The data showed TPE cancelled 1,781 services during the most recent four-week reporting period to February 4.
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Fares in England and Wales jumped by up to 5.9 per cent on average from Sunday, adding hundreds of pounds to the cost of many annual season tickets.
As union strikes and unreliable services continue to affect customers, while energy and food bills increase, campaign group Railfuture said it was 'really harsh on the poor rail traveller' and a 'bitter pill to swallow'. Analysis of ORR data found the annual fares rise was the largest since a 6.1 per cent hike across Britain in 2012.
A study by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority found a total of 23,153 services would be cancelled by FirstGroup-owned TPE this year if the rate continues. Today - Monday - TPE's website showed 46 cancellations.
In a series of tweets on Monday morning, as the conference got underway, Andy Burnham said: "Today people across the North are being asked to pay six per cent more for rail services that are either not running or hugely over-crowded. It's not on. We need change."
Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, also shared a tweet with a list of cancelled services and added: "People deserve so much better than this."
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TPE runs trains across northern England and into Scotland. Its passengers have suffered from delays and cancellations over the past year, partly due to train drivers no longer volunteering to work paid overtime shifts. An offer aimed at restoring rest day working was rejected by union Aslef.
Ms Brabin said: "Without improvement there could be an appalling 23,000 cancellations inflicted on northern rail commuters this year by TransPennine Express. This is shocking, and the Government must hear our calls, finally get a grip and bring this situation under control.
"A fully functioning public transport network is crucial to our plans to boost the economy, achieve our climate ambitions and provide people with the opportunity to get on in life.
"Without action people will lose jobs, our youngsters will miss vital opportunities, and the northern economy will go off the rails."
A TPE spokesman said the operator 'worked hard with the Department for Transport to improve the offer on overtime working for our drivers'.
He went on: "At almost £500 per shift, it is deeply disappointing this offer was rejected out of hand by Aslef. This offer for overtime working stands comparison with rates across the industry. We hope the union will reconsider and put the offer to its members, who we hope would support it.
"We know the service levels over the past year have not been good enough and we are pulling out all the stops to make things better.
"Restoring driver overtime is an important part of that process and we urge Aslef to act in the interests of the members, the customers and the communities across our network and accept the offer on the table in order to enable a rapid reduction in train cancellations.”
Henri Murison, chief executive of business group the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said he would be late for the TfN conference as the 8.52am train from Leeds to Newcastle was cancelled due to drivers not working on rest days. He wrote on Twitter: “The members of the unions in many cases want deals. As passengers we need them."
The Department for Transport is examining the details of a recovery plan produced by TPE after ministers deemed its performance was unacceptable. The operator’s current contract expires in May.
Ms Brabin said: "People in the North need action right now. I spoke to the rail minister Huw Merriman last week and he understands the challenges and the need to bring people together to find a solution.
"But, with current levels of service from TransPennine Express, it would be unthinkable for the Government to renew their contract for another eight years. We need trains operated by a safe pair of hands to see us through the inevitable disruption that the vitally important Transpennine Route Upgrade (TPU) will bring in the next few years."
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 to have not been able to consistently provide that due to the ongoing issues.
“We have pro-actively submitted a detailed recovery plan to Department for Transport and the team at TPE continues to work flat-out to deliver higher levels of service delivery and to tackle the issues that are being experienced by customers.”
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