A second UK train operator has said it will slash its schedules because of sickness and “industrial relations issues”, cutting some services by almost a quarter.
TransPennine Express is to bring in an emergency timetable from next Monday, after similar moves from Avanti West Coast, which has pared its schedules back since last month.
TPE said it will cut from 40 to 31 the number of planned trains between north-west England and Scotland from Monday, taking more services off the west coast route, where Avanti has run fewer than half of its normal services since 14 August.
Like Avanti – also owned by FirstGroup – the operator said it was cutting trains to “provide a more stable and reliable service” after a high number of short-notice cancellations.
The emergency timetable will affect routes connecting Manchester and Liverpool with Edinburgh and Glasgow, via Preston and Carlisle.
TPE told passengers the disruption was being caused by “higher than normal sickness levels and ongoing industrial relations issues”. But it warned that even under the emergency timetable, with some rail replacement buses in use, its services “may still face ‘on-the-day’ challenges”. It has also advised customers to travel only if essential this weekend.
The company’s service planning and performance director, Jerry Farquharson, said: “Our customers want reliable and punctual train services, and we are sorry that we have not been able to provide that due to the ongoing issues.
“In normal circumstances, we have enough people to fully operate our scheduled timetable. However, the combination of factors has put unprecedented pressure on our ability to operate a consistent service.
“This temporary amended timetable for our services between the north-west of England and Scotland will help us provide more stability and certainty for customers travelling on this route.”
The move underlines the fraught state of the rail industry, with unions demanding pay rises to match inflation after freezes during Covid, and the government and operators saying they are unaffordable, while demanding more workplace reforms.
Labour has called for TPE’s sister company Avanti to be stripped of its contract for failing to deliver. Avanti’s boss Phil Whittingham was axed last week, after apparently inflaming the problems at his company by blaming “unofficial strike action”, provoking furious rebuttals from Aslef. Drivers have not been volunteering to work overtime at Avanti, leaving it unable to run all trains as sickness and training requirements lower available staff numbers.
Strikes later next week will also damage TPE services, in the long-running dispute over pay. Drivers in Aslef will strike on 15 September, in a walkout joined by drivers at 11 other companies across the country. TPE’s conductors and onboard staff in the RMT union will also strike on 15 and 17 September as part of a national walkout.
