Overview | |||
---|---|---|---|
Franchise(s) | TransPennine Express 28 May 2023 – present | ||
Main route(s) | |||
Parent company | DfT OLR Holdings | ||
Reporting mark | TP | ||
Predecessor | TransPennine Express (2016–2023) | ||
Other | |||
Website | www | ||
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TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), [1] is a British train operating company that has operated passenger services in the TransPennine Express franchise area since May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland. The company, which is government-owned, was established following poor performance by the previous commercially-owned operator, also called TransPennine Express. It has carried over the rolling stock, passenger services, and branding.
During the early 2020s, the incumbent operator of the TransPennine Express franchise, FirstGroup's TransPennine Express, suffered severe disruption of its services, which was largely attributable to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes. [2] [3] On 11 May 2023, following numerous cancellations and service disruptions, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that First Group's contract to operate the franchise would not be renewed and, as a result, TPE would cease operations on 28 May 2023. [4] [5] In its place, operations were taken over by operator of last resort (OLR) TransPennine Trains. [6] [7]
The performance of TransPennine Trains has been criticised, being amongst the least punctual train operators during 2023 and having a cancellation rate that exceeded one in eight trains during summer 2023. [8] In October 2023, the operator announced that it would be temporarily cutting services from 320 services per day to 300, reducing off-peak trains between the cities of Leeds and Manchester, with the goal of improving both punctuality and reliability. TransPennine Trains' managing director, Chris Jackson, stated that this move allowed for greater driver training and helped to stabilise the timetable, and that the operator would reintroduce the full timetable by December 2024 at the latest. [9] [10] Shortly thereafter, the company released a new timetable comparison tool to aid customers in interpreting the service levels and changes enacted. [11]
During early December 2023, TransPennine Trains' services were disrupted by industrial action as the train drivers belonging to the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) trade union implemented a ban on overtime and a series of rolling strikes. [12] That same month, the operator reinstated direct train services between Castleford and York for the first time in 50 years; this service change was facilitated by recent infrastructure improvement work undertaken as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). [13] [14]
TransPennine Trains took over all services operated by its predecessor, TransPennine Express, on 28 May 2023. [15] [16]
The TransPennine Express routes are subdivided into three operations:
As of December 2023, the following services operate off-peak, seven days a week: [18]
Following the December 2023 timetable change the following changes are made to services during peak hours:
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Times shown are best times from Liverpool Lime Street. |
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Upon commencing operations, TransPennine Express inherited the fleet of the previous franchisee. Various minor refurbishment programmes were quickly enacted. The oldest trains in the fleet, the Class 185 multiple-units, were subject to an interior deep clean, which included the replacement of all carpets. Furthermore, all of the seats were recovered and improvements to the onboard toilet facilities were made. [22] By late 2023, TransPennine Express had also formulated its new trains programme, a longer-term initiative in which the operator stated its intention to introduce new technologies to support decarbonisation, the acceleration of efforts to cascade and eventually entirely remove diesel trains from its fleet, and enact a new long-term depot and maintenance strategy. [23]
During September 2023, following a radical review by the DfT, it was announced that TransPennine Express's Nova 3 train sets, comprising Class 68 diesel locomotives hauling rakes of Mark 5A carriages, had been scheduled for withdrawal. [24] This rolling stock was relatively new, yet had been beset by multiple challenges including technical issues, driver training, a downturn in passengers due to COVID-19, and noise complaints from neighbours of the Scarborough maintenance facility, which resulted in a persistently low utilisation rate being achieved. The DfT believes that the withdrawal of the Nova 3 sets can be adequately offset by maximising the utilisation of other trains, such as 19 Class 802 bi-mode train sets and the Class 185 DMUs. [24] Chris Jackson, managing director of TransPennine Express, has advocated for the need to simplify the operator's fleet, resource planning, and overall business strategy. [25]
Family | Class | Image | Top speed | Number | Carriages | Routes operated | Built | ||
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mph | km/h | ||||||||
Diesel–hydraulic multiple units | |||||||||
Siemens Desiro | 185 | 100 | 160 | 51 [26] | 3 | North Route
South Route
| 2005–06 | ||
Bi-mode multiple units | |||||||||
Hitachi AT300 | 802 Nova 1 | 125 [27] | 200 [27] | 19 [26] | 5 | North Route
Anglo-Scottish Route
| 2017–19 | ||
Electric multiple units | |||||||||
CAF Civity | 397 Nova 2 | 125 | 200 | 12 [26] | 5 | Anglo-Scottish Route
| 2017–19 [28] | ||
Locomotive hauled stock | ||||||||||
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Family | Class | Image | Type | Top Speed | Qty. | Carriages | Routes Operated | Built | Withdrawn | |
mph | km/h | |||||||||
Stadler UKLight | 68 | Diesel locomotive | 100 [29] | 160 | 14 [30] | 5 | North Route (Until 2023)
(Until July 2023)
| 2016–17 | 2023 [31] | |
CAF | Mark 5A Nova 3 | Coach | 125 | 200 | 52 | 2017–18 | ||||
Driving Trailer | 14 [32] | |||||||||
The British Rail Class 185 Desiro is a class of diesel-hydraulic multiple-unit (DHMU) passenger trains built by Siemens Transportation Systems in Germany for the train operating company First TransPennine Express. They are currently operated by TransPennine Express.
The Huddersfield line is the main railway line between the English cities of Leeds and Manchester, via Huddersfield. It is one of the busiest MetroTrain lines. The route travels south-south-west from Leeds through Dewsbury. After a short westward stretch through Mirfield, where it runs on the ex-L&YR section, it continues south-west through Huddersfield, using the Colne Valley to its headwaters. The long Standedge Tunnel, just after Marsden, crosses under the watershed; the majority of the run down to Manchester is in the Tame Valley. From Manchester, some services continue to Manchester Airport and others to Liverpool.
Wakefield Kirkgate railway station is a railway station in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Unlike the nearby Wakefield Westgate railway station, Kirkgate is unstaffed. The station is managed by Northern but also served by Grand Central and TransPennine Express. It is on the Hallam, Calder Valley, Pontefract and Huddersfield lines. It has a limited number of services to London King's Cross.
First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major cities of Northern England as well as Scotland.
Castleford railway station serves the town of Castleford in West Yorkshire. It lies on the Hallam and Pontefract lines, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Leeds.
Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.
Mirfield railway station serves the town of Mirfield in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Huddersfield Line and is managed by Northern and also receives services by Grand Central and also TransPennine Express. The station is 4 miles (6 km) north east from Huddersfield.
Deighton railway station serves the Deighton area of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.
Ravensthorpe railway station serves the Ravensthorpe suburb of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the Huddersfield line between Leeds and Manchester, 8 miles (13 km) north east of Huddersfield.
Batley railway station serves the market town of Batley in West Yorkshire, England. Situated 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Leeds on the main line to Huddersfield and Manchester, the station was opened by the London and North Western Railway in 1848.
Morley railway station serves the town of Morley in West Yorkshire, England.
Slaithwaite railway station serves the town of Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England. The station is 4 miles (6 km) west of Huddersfield railway station on the Huddersfield Line between Huddersfield and Manchester Victoria.
Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Huddersfield Line, operated by Northern and is about 7 miles (11 km) west of Huddersfield station. It was opened in 1849 by the London & North Western Railway and is the last station before the West Yorkshire boundary with Greater Manchester. The station is operated by Northern Trains, but only Transpennine Express trains call here.
Greenfield railway station in the village of Greenfield, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Huddersfield Line 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Manchester Victoria. It is the final station in Greater Manchester before the West Yorkshire boundary. It is operated by Northern Trains although only TransPennine Express trains call at this station.
Mossley railway station in Mossley, Greater Manchester, England, is on the Huddersfield Line 9.9 miles (16 km) north-east of Manchester Victoria and is managed by Northern, which do not provide any services to or from this station. Only TransPennine Express trains stop here.
Church Fenton railway station serves the village of Church Fenton in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated where the Cross Country Route from Leeds to York meets the Dearne Valley line from Sheffield to York, just under 10.75 miles (17 km) from York.
TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, was a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operated the TransPennine Express franchise. It ran regional and inter-city rail services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland.
The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottleneck in Manchester. It was predicted to stimulate economic growth in the region. The project had several elements but the prime objective was to eradicate the bottleneck in Manchester and allow trains to travel through the city at speed without stopping. The project was announced as the Manchester Hub in 2009. The project's steering partnership involved Network Rail, Deutsche Bahn, First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, East Midlands Trains, CrossCountry, Freightliner, the Department for Transport, Transport for Greater Manchester and Merseytravel.
The British Rail Mark 5A is a type of railway vehicle in use in the UK. 52 standard carriages and 14 driving trailers were built by Spanish manufacturer CAF, and were operated by TransPennine Express. They first entered service on 24 August 2019.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is a major investment being made in the railway between York and Manchester via Leeds and Huddersfield – the 76 miles (122 km) northern route over the Pennines, most of which is also known as the Huddersfield line. As of 2023, the line is heavily used but is slow and lacks capacity. It has Victorian infrastructure, covers difficult terrain including the 3-mile (4.8 km) Standedge Tunnel, and has poor access roads.