Cross-country commuters at Manchester Piccadilly Station this morning were pleasantly surprised — because changes in TransPennine Express’ timetable did not result in widespread chaos.
Yesterday (December 11), the rail operator implemented its bi-annual timetable change, meaning this morning was the first day commuters had to adjust to new services. In the past, and seen with other operators, new schedules have resulted in chaos for passengers across the north.
This morning, however, the timetable changes did not lead to huge disruption at rush hour. In the time the Manchester Evening News spent at Piccadilly, from 8am to 9:30am, only one train — a service to Newcastle — was cancelled at short notice.
That being said, several TPE trains were delayed, including some to the Airport. And, Guardian journalist Helen Pidd reported that there were ‘103 full or part cancellations’ across its network.
Passengers told the MEN that today’s service was largely good — which ‘shocked’ one man who said usually that is not the case. Paul Mason, a freelance gym trainer, said: “I was quite shocked [mine was on time].
“Last week it was an hour late and cancelled twice. On one occasion on the app it was running so I paid £30 for a taxi then I was told it was cancelled [at the station]. Then I had to get another £30 taxi — so that’s £60 for what should have been a £6.50 journey.”
Adam Sands, a train enthusiast visiting the city from Grimsby, Lincs, said he had faced issues today. “I am a bit bored of it,” he said.
“It’s not a bad service, but I was supposed to be on the first train from Grimsny at 5.12am, but it was cancelled so I had to get the next one.”
And Helen Gouldthorpe, a clinical lead nurse who works between Manchester and Leeds, said her journey today was ‘fine’. She added: “This morning it was fine, it was really quiet.
“It’s normal for them to be delayed or cancelled, though. I have to travel between Leeds and Manchester for work quite often, and fortunately at work they are quite flexible.”
TransPennine Express says that it has recruited more drivers than ever before. A spokesperson said: “Our new timetable brings with it a number of enhancements for customers as outlined by the Manchester Recovery Task Force process.
“These enhancements include the extension of the Cleethorpes – Manchester service to Liverpool via Warrington, direct Hull – Liverpool services and the extension of all Manchester Airport – Redcar Central services through to Saltburn. Through the new timetable we have also begun the phased reintroduction of services on the West Coast Main Line.
“The work to prepare for these changes has involved a huge amount of training over the past year, significantly greater than for any other train operator in our region. Alongside this, a further significant training programme has been necessary to allow our traincrew to work on the diversionary routes needed to support the delivery of TransPennine Route Upgrade works during 2023.
“To help deliver resilience, and to allow training to take place alongside the running of passenger services, we have worked hard to recruit more traincrew to the business and currently have 507 active drivers – more than TPE has ever had. However, we continue to experience traincrew availability issues as a result of continued high levels of sickness – which has seen a significant spike in recent days – and the unprecedented training backlog.
“As a result of these factors, the delivery of the timetable will be challenging from the outset and customers may experience disruption to their journeys. Where cancellations and amendments are necessary, we will ensure these are communicated quickly and clearly.”
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