![]() | |||
![]() | |||
Overview | |||
---|---|---|---|
Franchise(s) | TransPennine Express 1 April 2016 – 28 May 2023 [1] | ||
Main route(s) | North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England, Scotland | ||
Fleet size | |||
Stations operated | 19 | ||
Parent company | FirstGroup | ||
Reporting mark | TP | ||
Predecessor | First TransPennine Express | ||
Successor | TransPennine Trains trading as TransPennine Express | ||
|
TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, [2] 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 franchise operated almost all its services to and through Manchester covering three main routes. The service provided rail links for major towns and cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield, Hull, Leeds, York, Scarborough, Cleethorpes, Middlesbrough and Newcastle upon Tyne. TPE ran trains 24 hours a day, including through New Year's Eve night. TPE trains ran between York, Leeds and Manchester Airport at least every three hours every night of the week. The franchise operated across the West Coast Main Line, Huddersfield Line, East Coast Main Line and part of the Tees Valley line.
The majority of TPE's rolling stock was procured during the late 2010s under Project Nova. These consist of the Nova 1 (Class 802) BMU trainsets, the Nova 2 Class 397 CAF Civity EMUs, and the Nova 3 Mark 5A fixed-formation carriages paired with Class 68 diesel locomotives. These replaced older rolling stock, such as the Bombardier Turbostar 170/3s and Siemens Desiro 350/4s, as well as some of their Siemens Desiro 185s, although these were still used on some routes. TPE had facilitated an operational shift towards more inter-city style services, although the commuter market remains important.
In May 2023, following a period of poor performance, it was announced that the company's contract would not be renewed and the service taken over by government-owned operator of last resort TransPennine Trains on 28 May 2023, who have continued trading under the TransPennine Express name. The decision to bring the service under the control of the operator of last resort was described as temporary, and it is said to be the UK government's intention that the franchise will be privatised again.
The TransPennine Express brand was launched in the early 1990s by British Rail's Regional Railways sector. [4] It became part of Regional Railways North East and, on 2 March 1997, was privatised along with the majority of British Rail. Its first private sector operator, Northern Spirit, as well as its successor, Arriva Trains Northern, opted to maintain the brand. [5]
In 2000, the Strategic Rail Authority announced that it planned to reorganise the North West Regional Railways and Regional Railways North East franchises operated by First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern. A TransPennine Express franchise would be created for the long-distance regional services, the remaining services being operated by a new Northern franchise. [6]
In July 2003, the TransPennine franchise was awarded to a joint venture between FirstGroup and Keolis, and the services operated by Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western were transferred to First TransPennine Express on 1 February 2004. [7] On 11 November 2007, the services from the Manchester station group to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central via the West Coast Main Line formerly operated by Virgin CrossCountry were transferred to First TransPennine Express. [8]
In August 2014, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced FirstGroup, Keolis/Go-Ahead and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the next franchise. [9] During December 2015, FirstGroup was awarded the franchise of TransPennine Express. The effective start date of the new franchise was 1 April 2016 and it was scheduled to run until 31 March 2023, with an option to extend for two years. [10] [11] [12] The company remained First TransPennine Express, but branded the services as TransPennine Express.
As part of a recasting of the franchise map by the DfT, services from Manchester Airport to Blackpool North; Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness; and Oxenholme Lake District to Windermere were transferred to the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016. [13]
In May 2021, following various COVID-19 emergency measures, the company was given a direct award contract by the DfT running until 28 May 2023. [1]
TransPennine Express was one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes, which were the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades. [14] Its workers were amongst those who are participating in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. [15]
On 11 May 2023, after months of continued cancellations and service disruptions, the DfT announced that the company's contract would not be renewed with TPE ceasing operations on 28 May 2023. [16] [17] Instead, the service was taken over by operator of last resort TransPennine Trains. [18] [19] [20]
The TransPennine Express routes were subdivided into three operations:
As of December 2022, TransPennine Express operated the following services off-peak, seven days a week: [22]
When TransPennine Express began operation, it inherited a fleet of four Class 170 and 51 Class 185 DMUs, as well as ten Class 350/4 EMUs, from First TransPennine Express. The Class 170s were transferred to Chiltern Railways, where they were converted to Class 168s. [23] Originally it was planned after all the new trains in the Nova fleet entered service, 22 of the 51 Class 185 DMUs would be returned to Eversholt Rail Group. [24] However these remained with the franchise and allowed services to be strengthened. [25] Further cascades of rolling stock occurred over time; shortly following the introduction of the Class 397 sets during 2020, all ten of the Class 350 EMUs were transferred to West Midlands Trains. [26]
Upon its instatement, TransPennine Express (TPE) services were particularly heavily trafficked; prior to 2018, the operator reportedly operated the busiest trains in the country, and it was common for some passengers to be unable to be seated during rush hour. [27] Reportedly, the franchise also aimed to reorientation its operations towards inter-city services over its inter-urban routes, although it shall continue to transport large numbers of commuters regardless. As a means of addressing these factors, TPE launched Project Nova, under which the vast majority of their existing rolling stock would be replaced by new-build trainsets with greater capacity. During 2016, TPE signed contracts valued at £500 million with Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) to produce the majority of its Nova rolling stock. [26] [27] The Nova fleet is divided into three distinct categories; the Nova 1 being (Class 802) BMU sets derived from the Hitachi A-train family, the Nova 2 trainsets being CAF-built Class 397 Civity EMUs, and the Nova 3 sets consisting of locomotive-hauled CAF-built Mark 5A coaches. [27]
The Nova 1 fleet had originally been ordered by TPE's predecessor as part of plans to bolster route capacity by 80%; having contracted with Hitachi Rail Europe for the latter to supply 19 five-car bi-mode trainsets. [27] According to Robin Davis, TPE's head of new trains, a major rationale behind the Nova 1 fleet was its bi-mode capability, noting that electrification ambitions often had much uncertainty, while a bi-mode fleet eliminated the operational risk to such uncertainty. Davis also noted that, in the event of largescale electrification being funded and implemented, the Class 802s could have some of their engines removed to reduce roughly 15% of their weight and thus raise their efficiency. [27] Furthermore, Leo Goodwin, TPE's managing director, has observed that while the Class 802s will have an initial maximum speed of 125 mph, they have the capability of being modified for operating at 140 mph if infrastructure upgrades were to permit such speeds at a future date. [27]
The Nova 2 trainsets were CAF-built Class 397 EMUs, the design being a member of the preexisting Civity range. [27] Davis observed the Class 397 procurement to be a natural fit in light of TPE's desire to rapidly increase capacity and CAF's reputation for speedily producing limited batches of trains. While the Class 397 is capable of attaining a maximum speed of 125 mph, it is limited to a service speed of 100 mph. [27]
The Nova 3 trainsets use Mark 5A carriages, locomotive-hauled and designed for its inter-city routes. [27] The choice to procure carriages was unusual for the UK market; it was reportedly the first procurement of such rolling stock since the Mark 4 sets for the InterCity 225 during the late 1980s. Davis claims that the expense of constructing DMUs suitable for inter-city services was prohibitive in comparison, and notes that it is to be operated as a fixed-formation push-pull train, not relying on run-arounds as historically performed by locomotive-hauled sets. [27] From the onset, it was planned for these to be hauled by a small fleet of Class 68 locomotives, requiring minor control-oriented modifications by Stadler to do so. According to franchise documents filed with the Department for Transport (DfT), considerations have been made to alternatively hauling the Nova 3 carriages with Class 88 bi-mode locomotives, which are closely related to the Class 68; however, this would be dependent on relatively ambitious, and thus far unfunded, suggestions for widespread electrification in the region being fulfilled. [27]
On 24 August 2019, the first new trains of the Nova fleet entered revenue service; these were the Nova 3 sets, comprising a Class 68 locomotive and a rake of Mark 5A coaches. [28] On 28 September 2019, the Nova 1 (Class 802) sets followed, [29] while operations of the Nova 2 trainsets (Class 397) commenced on 30 November 2019. [30] TPE officially launched the Nova fleet on 22 November at Liverpool Lime Street station. [31]
Family | Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Carriages | Routes operated | Built | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mph | km/h | ||||||||
Diesel multiple units | |||||||||
Siemens Desiro | 185 | ![]() | DHMU | 100 | 160 | 51 | 3 | North Route, South Route | 2005–2006 |
![]() | |||||||||
Bi-mode multiple units | |||||||||
Hitachi AT300 | 802 Nova 1 | ![]() | BMU | 124 | 200 [32] | 19 | 5 |
| 2017–2019 |
![]() | |||||||||
Electric multiple units | |||||||||
CAF Civity | 397 Nova 2 | | EMU | 125 | 200 | 12 | 5 | Anglo-Scottish Route
| 2017–2019 [33] |
![]() | |||||||||
Locomotive hauled stock | |||||||||
Stadler UKLight | 68 | ![]() | Diesel locomotive | 100 [34] | 160 | 14 [35] | 5 |
| 2016–2017 |
CAF | Mark 5A Nova 3 | | Coach | 125 | 200 | 52 | 2017–2018 | ||
![]() | Driving Trailer | 14 [36] | |||||||
![]() |
Former units operated by TransPennine Express include:
Family | Class | Image | Type | mph | km/h | Number | Carriages | Routes operated | Built | Left fleet |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bombardier Turbostar | 170 | | DMU | 100 | 160 | 4 [37] | 2 | Manchester Piccadilly / Airport-Cleethorpes / Hull / York | 2000 | 2016 |
Siemens Desiro | 350 | ![]() | EMU | 110 | 177 | 10 | 4 | Anglo-Scottish Route | 2013–2014 | 2019–2020 |
TransPennine Express services ran over large areas of northern England and southern Scottish Lowlands. Many of the largest stations they served are managed by other train operating companies or Network Rail.
TransPennine Express managed the following 19 stations: [13] [38]
Some stations from the former franchise operator First TransPennine Express were transferred to Northern. These include Arnside, Barrow-in-Furness, Birchwood, Burneside, Carnforth, Grange-over-Sands, Kendal, Staveley, Ulverston, Warrington Central and Windermere. [13]
Siemens maintained the Class 185 fleet at Ardwick depot in Manchester with a smaller facility in York. Scottish stabling points for both stock included Polmadie TRSMD (Glasgow) and Craigentinny T.&R.S.M.D. (Edinburgh). Hitachi maintained the Class 802 fleet at Doncaster Carr and Craigentinny. [39] The new EMUs and loco-hauled sets were to be maintained by Alstom, on behalf of TransPennine Express, at Longsight (Manchester), Edge Hill (Liverpool) and Polmadie (Glasgow). [33] During 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TPE invested £1.7 million into highly stringent rolling stock cleaning practices; these reportedly represented a 70% upsurge on pre-COVID-19 hygiene practices. [40]
TransPennine Express had depots for its train crews at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport (conductors), York, Newcastle, Scarborough, Hull, Cleethorpes, Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central.
The TransPennine Express service was often criticised. A satirical article in 2022 called it the "ironically named TransPennine Express. You'd hate to take the non-Express service. It might be quicker to walk." [41]
The Guardian reported cancellations of 20-30% in October and November 2022 [42] and 23% for the four weeks of 5 February to 4 March 2023. [43]
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland. The company operates transport services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
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.
Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated the most stations of any train operating company in the United Kingdom. Northern Rail was replaced on 1 April 2016 by Arriva Rail North.
The British Rail Class 350 Desiro is a class of electric multiple unit passenger train built by Siemens Transportation Systems to its Desiro design between 2004 and 2014. All 87 are now operated by West Midlands Trains, having previously been operated by Central Trains, Silverlink, Southern, London Midland, First TransPennine Express and TransPennine Express (FirstGroup).
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.
Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.
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.
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidiary. It is based in Beasain, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. Equipment manufactured by Grupo CAF includes light rail vehicles, rapid transit trains, railroad cars and locomotives, as well as variable gauge axles that can be fitted on any existing truck or bogie.
The Class 68 is a type of mainline mixed traffic diesel-electric locomotive manufactured by Stadler Rail Valencia for Direct Rail Services (DRS) in the United Kingdom. The design is derived from the Stadler Eurolight, and Stadler's product name for this variant is the UKLight.
The York Leeman Road railway depot, located in York, England, is a passenger multiple unit depot opened in May 2007 by Siemens. It services TransPennine Express Class 185s and Class 68 locomotives.
Beacon Rail is a rolling stock company (ROSCO) based in the United Kingdom. Its primary business is the leasing of locomotives and rolling stock to various train operating companies (TOCs).
The British Rail Class 802 is a type of high-speed bi-mode multiple-unit passenger train designed and produced by the Japanese manufacturer Hitachi Rail. It has been operated by Great Western Railway, TransPennine Express, and Hull Trains; each of these train operating companies has given its own units a unique brand: Great Western Railway's units are branded Intercity Express Trains (IETs), TransPennine Express units are branded Nova 1s and Hull Trains' units are branded Paragons.
The CAF Civity is a family of regional passenger trains which is manufactured by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. Available as both diesel, electric and battery-electric multiple unit, the Civity was first launched in 2010 and received its first order two years later.
The British Rail Class 397 Civity is a class of electric multiple unit built by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF for lease to TransPennine Express by Eversholt Rail Group. A total of twelve five-car units were built to operate services on TransPennine North West services between Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central.
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.
An operator of last resort is a business in the United Kingdom that operates a railway franchise, on behalf of the government, when a train operating company is no longer able to do so. Since May 2023, there are six such operators in England, Wales and Scotland.
DfT OLR Holdings Limited (DOHL) is a holding company established by the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom to act as operator of last resort for rail franchises that are nationalised.
TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), 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.