TransPennine Express to be brought under government control due to ‘continuous cancellations’
TransPennine Express will not have its contract renewed or extended, the government has announced, after “months of… continuous cancellations”.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said that from 28 May, TransPennine Express will be brought into operator of last resort – essentially running the network on behalf of the government.
Its services cover northern England and also run in parts of Scotland.
Announcing the change, the government said: “The decision follows months of significant disruption and regular cancellations across TransPennine Express’s network, which has resulted in a considerable decline in confidence for passengers who rely on the trains to get to work, visit family and friends and go about their daily lives.”
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According to the government, this is now the fourth railway to be brought under government control – following the East Coast Mainline in June 2018, Northern Rail in March 2020 and London and South Eastern Railway in October 2021.
The process is part of the powers given to the government under the legislation which privatised the railways in 1993.
Recent figures from the Office of Road and Rail show that TPE cancelled an average of one in six services in March this year.
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It had been impacted by drivers no longer volunteering to work paid overtime shifts – but the government said there were also issues with “a backlog of recruitment and training drivers [and] reforming how the workforce operates”.
Mr Harper said: “In my time as transport secretary, I have been clear that passenger experience must always come first.
“After months of commuters and Northern businesses bearing the brunt of continuous cancellations, I’ve made the decision to bring TransPennine Express into operator of last resort.”
Mr Harper added that the decision was not a “silver bullet” to “instantaneously fix a number of challenges” – including drivers at the Aslef union who are “preventing” TPE from running a full service.
“We have played our part, but Aslef now need to play theirs by calling off strikes and the rest day working ban, putting the very fair and reasonable pay offer to a democratic vote of their member,” the secretary of state added.
The network had been plagued with delays
Government running TransPennine not a great look for levelling up
TransPennine Express is the latest franchise to be brought under public control, the government says only temporarily.
But it follows Southeastern, in 2021, after years of poor performance, Northern Rail in 2020, and LNER in 2018 after Virgin and Stagecoach could no longer make payments, now run by the operator of last resort.
For Labour – which has cheered the decision – it vindicates the policy they’ve announced of bringing all franchises into public hands as their contracts end, although some have many years to run.
The government say action by train drivers union Aslef, which has refused to allow overtime, has not helped. Rishi Sunak warned TransPennine operator FirstGroup they might lose the contract back in January, with Avanti West Coast also reported to be at risk.
The railways have not recovered from the pandemic in terms of passenger numbers, increased sick days and a backlog of training – as well as sustained industrial action.
Ministers say they are acting to help passengers. But with the government committed to levelling up and improving the connectivity of Northern cities – and Northern Powerhouse Rail already scaled back – it’s not the sign they wanted to send.
TPE had been operated by FirstGroup, and it too has sought to blame “challenging industrial relations” for the disruption.
A statement from the company said: “Following the introduction of an agreed recovery plan in February 2023, cancellations have fallen by approximately 40% and will continue to do so as more drivers become available over the next few months.
“The group is disappointed by the decision not to extend the national rail contract for TPE, given the investment and improvements we have made to the service over the years, which resulted in growing annual passenger numbers from 14m in 2004 to more than 29m before the pandemic.”
Labour has used the development to call for renationalisation of the railways.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds – who is the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde in Greater Manchester – told Sky News that today’s actions reinforce his party’s plan to bring railways back into public ownership when current contracts expire.
And shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: “After months of needless damage, the Tories have finally accepted they can no longer defend the indefensible.
“But this endless cycle of shambolic private operators failing passengers shows the Conservative’s rail system is fundamentally broken.”
The action has been welcomed by MPs representing constituencies impacted by disruption to the services across political divides.
David Mundell, the Tory MP for Dumfriesshire in southern Scotland said: “Having lobbied for this outcome, I obviously welcome it. The service provided(or not) for my constituents at Lockerbie has been totally unacceptable and I had no confidence it would improve.”
Andy McDonald, the Labour MP for Middlesbrough on Teesside, said: “At last! Why this government allowed this miserable service to limp on so long is bewildering.
“But thank goodness they’ve eventually listened to what people in the North have been saying for years.”
Tracy Brabin, the Labour mayor of West Yorkshire, said the decision was “absolutely right” – and that she is looking forward “to hearing how the new operator intends to improve services”.
Four people have been arrested by police investigating cyber attacks targeting M&S, Co-op and Harrods.
A 20-year-old woman and two males, both aged 19, and a male aged 17, were detained in London and the West Midlands this morning as part of a National Crime Agency (NCA) operation.
They were arrested at their homes on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
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Electronic devices were seized from the suspects and are currently being analysed by forensic experts.
M&S halted online orders, and shelves were empty in shops after the cyber attack on the retailer earlier this year.
The initial hack into the retailer’s systems took place in April through “sophisticated impersonation” involving a third party.
Disruption is expected to continue at the retailer until the end of this month.
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Mickey Carroll in May answered why M&S cyber attack was so bad.
The Co-op and Harrods were also subsequently targeted by hackers.
Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National cybercrime unit described the arrests as a “significant step” in their investigation, which remains “one of the Agency’s highest priorities”.
He added: “…our work continues, alongside partners in the UK and overseas, to ensure those responsible are identified and brought to justice.”
The National Crime Agency is keen to “signal” to “future victims” the “importance of seeking support and engaging with law enforcement”, stating that “the NCA and policing are here to help”.
The NCA has also thanked M&S, Co-op and Harrods for their support in their investigations.
The arrests, which took place early on Thursday morning, were supported by officers from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.
Earlier this week, the chairman of M&S told MPs that the hack had been “traumatic” and like an “out-of-body experience”.
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Archie Norman, however, refused to be drawn on whether the retailer had paid any ransom.
“We are not discussing any of the details of our interaction with the threat actor, including this subject, but that subject is fully shared with the NCA,” he said.
It is estimated that the cyber attack will cost M&S up to £300m this year.
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Days after M&S was attacked, the Co-op was targeted and forced to shut down some internal systems.
Harrods was then hacked, and also had to shut some systems despite its website and shops continuing to operate.
Of those arrested, a 17-year-old British male and a 19-year-old Latvian male were from the West Midlands.
A 19-year-old man was from London and a 20-year-old woman from Staffordshire.
Royal Mail is to be allowed to scrap Saturday second-class stamp deliveries, under a series of reforms proposed by the communications regulator.
From 28 July, Royal Mail will also be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays, Ofcom said.
The post will still be delivered within three working days of collection from Monday to Friday.
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The proposals had already been raised by Ofcom after a consultation was announced in 2024, and the scale back was proposed early this year.
Royal Mail had repeatedly failed to meet the so-called universal service obligation to deliver post within set periods of time.
Those delivery targets are now being revised downwards.
Rather than having to have 93% of first-class mail delivered the next day, 90% will be legally allowed.
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The target for second-class mail deliveries will be lowered from 98.5% to arrive within three working days to 95%.
A review of stamp prices has also been announced by Ofcom amid concerns over affordability, with a consultation set to be launched next year.
It’s good news for Royal Mail and its new owner, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Ofcom estimates the changes will bring savings of between £250m and £425m.
A welcome change?
Unsurprisingly, the company welcomed the announcement.
“It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service,” said Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services.
“It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.”
Citizens Advice, however, doubted whether services would improve as a result of the changes.
“Today, Ofcom missed a major opportunity to bring about meaningful change,” said Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice.
“Pushing ahead with plans to slash services and relax delivery targets in the name of savings won’t automatically make letter deliveries more reliable or improve standards.”
Acknowledging long delays “where letters have taken weeks to arrive”, Ofcom said it set Royal Mail new enforceable targets so 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late.
Changing habits
Less than a third of letters are sent now than 20 years ago, and it is forecast to fall to about a fifth of the letters previously sent.
According to Ofcom research, people want reliability and affordability more than speedy delivery.
Royal Mail has been loss-making in recent years as revenues fell.
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In response to Ofcom’s changes, a government spokesperson said: “The public expects a well-run postal service, with letters arriving on time across the country without it costing the earth. With the way people use postal services having changed, it’s right the regulator has looked at this.
“We now need Royal Mail to work with unions and posties to deliver a service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send a letter anywhere in the UK”.
Ofcom said it has told Royal Mail to hold regular meetings with consumer bodies and industry groups to hear their experiences implementing the changes.
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