Worse performing railway in Britain, a Transpennine Express train service, to Manchester Airport Oxford road station, North West England, UK
Image details
Contributor:
Tony Smith / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2R0MKGYFile size:
48.5 MB (1.6 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5064 x 3348 px | 42.9 x 28.3 cm | 16.9 x 11.2 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
28 January 2023Location:
Station Approach, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England, UK, M1 6FUMore information:
TransPennine Express awaits contract decision amid poor service record Customers say lives upended by ripped up schedules and woeful performance. More at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/09/transpennine-express-awaits-contract-decision-amid-poor-service-record Once, it seemed like a good idea to live in the Pennines and commute by train. Susannah Simmons, a violinist at Opera North, moved to Marsden for quick and easy access to her work in Leeds and Manchester. “The service was far from perfect but satisfactory, ” she says. “But for at least the past year nearly all trains I would have used have been cancelled or delayed, forcing me to drive everywhere.” Like countless others, her life has been upended by ripped-up schedules and woeful performance of TransPennine Express. Ministers are expected to announce this week whether the operator will be replaced or awarded a fresh deal – potentially for up to eight years. Expectations are that TPE, owned by London-listed First Group – the only remaining British transport firm operating passenger trains on the UK’s privatised railway - will be given another chance to turn operations around, with a short extension of six to 12 months when its contract expires on 28 May. But train failures are a potent political issue in the north. The announcement was withheld until after the local elections and the results of last week’s vote – and the potential for further backlash in “red wall” seats – have given ministers further pause before renewing First’s contract, according to a source close to the process. MPs and mayors across the north have urged the government to “get a grip” after the operator’s abysmal record of delayed, disrupted and cancelled services – whose true extent was only officially confirmed after the regulator warned firms against concealing last-minute schedule changes.