A train operator has come under fire from angry passengers after announcing the cancellation of 55 trains in a single day on Wednesday.
TransPennine Express, which runs regional and inter-city trains between cities and towns in the north including Manchester, said on its website the cancellations were made 'as a result of ongoing issues'. "Surely easier to list which trains are running," said one passenger on Twitter. "You know, like a timetable. They're a disgrace."
The operator posted a long list of the cancelled trains on its website - with the vast majority of them affecting Manchester Piccadilly railway station.
The trains on Wednesday were cancelled on the Manchester-Edinburgh line; the Manchester-Sheffield/Doncaster/Cleethorpes line; Liverpool-Newcastle; Manchester/Leeds-Huddersfield/Hull; Liverpool/Manchester/Leeds - Huddersfield/Leeds/York/Scarborough and the Manchester-Liverpool line.
In addition, the list for Wednesday, a non-strike day, included 10 'amended services' with changed start and final destination stations.
TransPennine Express, following on from Avanti West Coast, announced a temporary timetable would come into force on September 12 leading to reduced services. TPE at the time blamed 'higher-than-normal sickness levels and ongoing industrial relations issues' for the move, together with a 'training backlog as a direct result of Covid'.
The operator, which is owned by FirstGroup, said it would reduce the number of planned trains between north-west England and Scotland by 23 per cent in a further blow for passengers who use the West Coast Main Line.
Dozens of TPE trains are currently being cancelled at short notice each day as a result, with the emergency timetables affecting routes connecting Manchester and Liverpool with Edinburgh and Glasgow, via Preston and Carlisle.
The Manchester Evening News has contacted TransPennine Express for comment.
We've also asked what the situation is for Thursday and Friday, and when Wednesday's cancellations were first announced.
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