More than 1,000 trains have been cancelled or changed overnight by under-fire rail operator TransPennine Express in just over a month - but they won't appear in official performance figures.
The shocking figures show the extent of the “hidden” disruption to services run by the train operator in the North over November and the start of December.
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These cancellations do not show up in official performance figures because they were made before 10pm the previous day, prompting claims the company is 'exploiting a loophole' in the reporting system.
Between November 2 and Monday December 5, TPE cancelled 887 trains on the day or evening before each service was due to run, in addition to cancellations made on the day. Another 307 services were amended overnight.
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Some 49 cancellations were announced last Sunday alone, affecting services on Monday, along with 21 amendments.
But the worst days for disruption came at the start of last month, when the operator cancelled 61 trains on November 3, and then 59 the following day.
The Manchester to Cleethorpes line has seen the most disruption, with 193 overnight train cancellations in the last month. That is followed by the Manchester to Hull line (161) and then Liverpool to Newcastle (122).
The most cancelled train has been the 05.54 service from Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly, leaving passengers scrabbling to find an alternative on 12 occasions between November 2 and December 5.
The 22.01 train from Newcastle to York and the late night 23.39 Manchester Airport to York service have each been cancelled overnight on 10 occasions.
But because all 887 cancellations were made before 10pm on the night before they were due to run, they will not appear in performance statistics submitted to the Office of Rail and Road, the government body that collates information about train reliability.
Current rules allow companies to ignore trains that were preemptively cancelled up to 10pm the previous night. They are known as “p-coded services” and do not count towards official figures or allow automatic 'delay repay' claims.
An ORR spokesperson said: “Services properly cancelled prior to 22:00 the night before the service day are not part of the rail cancellation data. Such changes take place for a wide variety of reasons; this definition remains consistent with historic data.
"We are currently working through a project to quantify relevant changes to service provision, to add context to our future statistical releases.”
Bruce Williamson, of passenger group Railfuture, said: “It looks like they are exploiting a loophole on this. Last-minute cancellations should be included in performance targets.
“We are concerned with the level of service generally and the reliability of service. It impacts on the passenger and the passenger has a reasonable expectation that they can catch a train and it will take them where they want to go.
“These cancellations also have an impact on the long-term credibility of the rail service.”
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TPE says it currently has more than 570 train drivers - around 70 more than it had in 2019 - and aims to have 30 more qualified drivers by next March.
But it says it has been forced to make cancellations due to sickness, a training backlog caused by the pandemic and ongoing issues with infrastructure.
TPE says it has also been impacted by industrial action which has been ongoing since February, as well as the withdrawal of rest day working, which ended last December.
A spokesperson for TransPennine Express said: “While our service delivery is not where we want it to be, there has been a reduction in the number of cancellations we have had to make in recent weeks and providing as reliable a service as possible for customers remains our biggest priority.
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“We are sorry to anyone who has been affected by this ongoing disruption. This has been caused by high levels of traincrew sickness, an intensive crew training programme (which includes a training backlog as a direct result of Covid), and infrastructure issues outside of our control, which combined have seen a number of ‘on-the-day’ cancellations or cancellations made the night before.
“To keep customers informed we ensure these cancellations are shown in industry systems and any pre-planned cancellations are shared via our website each evening. Anyone who is affected by their train being cancelled can apply for a refund.”
