TransPennine Express cancels more rail services over IT issue

TransPennine Express has had to cancel dozens of services for a second day running due to an ongoing IT problem.

The persistent glitch saw it cancel dozens more services earlier.

TransPennine's performance has been criticised by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who said the government should intervene and put the firm "on immediate probation".

TPE, Avanti West Coast (AWC) and Northern have all had problems with cancellations and delays across the north of England and parts of Scotland in recent months.

The three operators introduced new timetables earlier in December, which were aimed at solving some of the problems.

TPE said the latest disruption was caused by a "software issue, rather than a staffing problem", which led to it advising passengers not to travel on Wednesday.

It said the issue was affecting rostering and could cause further disruption over the coming days.

Mr Burnham told BBC North West Tonight the government should "step in" and put the operator on "immediate probation", as it had done with AWC.

The Labour mayor added that if TPE's services were not "better by the early part of January, they should be out".

A representative for TPE said prior to December 2021, the operator "posted its best ever performance results and was subsequently recognised as Train Operator of the Year at the Rail Business Awards".

"Since then, prolonged disruption affecting our services has been caused by a range of issues, including high levels of crew sickness, a persisting training backlog as a direct result of Covid, and infrastructure issues outside of TPE's control," they said.

They said those issues had put "unprecedented pressure" on its ability to effectively operate its services.

Apologising for the "ongoing issues, they added that TPE's customers "want, and deserve, reliable and punctual train services", and the operator was working "flat out" to deliver higher levels of service.

The Department for Transport said the level of disruption on the rail network was "well above what should be expected and passengers, particularly in the North, have suffered for too long".

A representative said the transport secretary had agreed a "four-pronged approach" to improve rail services in the region after a meeting with northern mayors and the government would "continue to monitor service levels closely and pressure operators to deliver improvements".