Rail passengers in the north have been warned of fewer services and potentially more crowded trains after TransPennine Express said it would cut its timetable further in December.
About 20 services a day between Leeds and Manchester will be taken out of the schedule as the firm seeks to “reset” its struggling operations.
Passengers will now have three trains an hour instead of four across its core intercity line at off-peak times, reducing overall seat numbers by 5%.
TransPennine Express (TPE) was taken into public ownership in May, when FirstGroup was stripped of the contract because of poor performance, although the government said the move was unlikely to improve services overnight.
So, so much better.
The fact that TPE had trains in a schedule does not mean that they actually ran. My last experience of the former franchise was a return trip between Manchester and Edinburgh: in both directions the booked train was cancelled (in fact, 5 out of 6 afternoon services on the return leg were cancelled).
If the new management runs 3 out of 4 services from the former schedule, that will indeed be an improvement,
Off topic but does anyone have the stomach to watch Spud’s performance last night on ‘Debate Tonight’?
It’s BBC Scotland’s answer to Question Time and regularly attracts audiences of 3,000. Spud travelled all the way from Ely to Edinburgh to appear on it – not because the pompous buffoon would do anything to be able to preen in front of a TV camera, you understand.
In his own words, “I got more than my rightful share of applause”.
From the picture he’s posted, he went in for the “I’m an intellectual so haven’t bought any new clothes or shoes for the last 20 years” look.
On the subject of the wonders of government-owned companies:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/welsh-water-admits-illegally-dumping-sewage-for-years-mpv273qrr
You may say “No shit, Sherlock” but the problem is quite the opposite.
Dunno, it doesn’t seem like the private ownership was working particularly well either. It’s probably just an unprofitable area for rail travel no matter who owns it. In which case, assuming it’s not shut altogether, it’s a question of who would best operate a rail service that is run for non-commercial reasons*.
Things must be bad if they can’t recruit train drivers, ffs.
* I think this happens quite a lot in areas of Europe. A political decision is made to operate rail at a loss for a perceived wider benefit. No idea of the ownership status but train fans tell me they’re mostly good, affordable services.
Scumville to Manchester Victoria via (my hometown) Bradistan 1hr 15mins and £11 return…
Scumville to Manchester Piccadilly via Dogbotheringland 1hr 15mins and £27 return…
Go figure
In the summer, I travelled from Warrington to York on the TPE, Thursday midafternoon out, Sunday morning back. Train was almost empty out, barely 25% full on the way back. So I can see why they might cut trains.
That service always used to be awful but this journey went smoothly and they had a trolley service.
PJF,
“Dunno, it doesn’t seem like the private ownership was working particularly well either. It’s probably just an unprofitable area for rail travel no matter who owns it. In which case, assuming it’s not shut altogether, it’s a question of who would best operate a rail service that is run for non-commercial reasons*.”
I think there might be some WFH impact (like people commuting from Huddersfield to Manchester or Leeds are now working from home more), but in general, private or public doesn’t make much difference on rail because of how much government dictated how trains were run. What trains will run, how often, at what fares, even down to whether a train will have a buffet car or not. True privatisation would see a lot of wanky little routes and stations closed down. It would have fares set by market demand, not ticket prices + inflation.
But it will be fun as people realise that the service is still going to be shite and the fares are still going to be high, and that having a bunch of capitalists making a couple of percent profit isn’t the problem.
I also see those loonies from the RMT want another 6 months of strikes. Despite total income falling 20%, they want an 11% pay rise, no job cuts, use of swivel chair at meetings and a recipe for lemon ice cream.
MC,
“In the summer, I travelled from Warrington to York on the TPE, Thursday midafternoon out, Sunday morning back. Train was almost empty out, barely 25% full on the way back. So I can see why they might cut trains.”
The reason these trains are 25% full is because their pricing is crap. They don’t understand the fundamental thing that Easyjet, National Express and Premier Inn understand, which is that it’s better to make £2 profit on a thing than to have it sat empty. Or on the flip side, that if a train is rammed, maybe you should be demanding more money for a seat.
But then, those are run by greed pig capitalists who like making money and rail pricing is controlled by the state.