Train passengers face yet another day of chaos as TransPennine Express cancelled dozens of services on Friday. The operator has issued a travel warning asking people to travel only if their journey is 'essential'.
Bosses at the firm, which was nationalised in May after months of poor performance, blamed 'operational issues' for the disruption. At the time of writing the TPE website is showing 41 train cancellations today.
TPE's interim managing director Chris Jackson said: "Unfortunately, operational issues mean we will be running a reduced number of services on Friday, June 23. We know this is frustrating news for our customers, and we are sorry for the impact it will have on people’s plans.
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"Customers are advised to only travel if absolutely essential on affected routes, and anyone making an essential journey should plan ahead, check very carefully before travelling and allow extra time, as short notice delays and further on-the-day cancellations are possible."
The affected routes include:
- Liverpool/Manchester – Newcastle
- Liverpool- Hull
- Manchester Airport- Saltburn
- Manchester- Scarborough
- York- Scarborough
- Manchester- Huddersfield
- Huddersfield- Leeds
- Newcastle- Edinburgh
Prior to nationalisation TPE ranked highest of all train operators in terms of cancellations, by some distance. Data from regulator Office of Rail and Road revealed that it cancelled almost a quarter of its services between January 8 and February this year, an average of around 37 every day.
At least 1,048 services were cancelled using a loophole known as P-codes, in which trains are removed from systems by 10pm the evening before, but do not count towards official cancellation figures. This meant passengers could wake up and find their planned service had simply disappeared from the system.
Anyone hoping to travel with TPE on Friday is advised to check their train before they travel via the TPE website or using National Rail Enquiries. Customers with tickets for Friday who chose not to travel can claim a full refund or can use their tickets up to and including Monday, June 26.
