“The last thing I do before going to sleep at night is check the trains to see whether they’re running on time and then the first thing I do in the morning, before I reach for a cup of tea, is pick my phone up and check again. And then you can still get to the station and find it’s cancelled or delayed.”
Welcome to the world of Andrew Holstead, and the thousands of others like him who rely on Britain’s creaking railway network.
I joined Mr Holstead on his morning commute into Manchester Piccadilly aboard a TransPennine Express service.
It was the first leg of my journey across the country to find out what it’s like for customers on some of the worst routes for delays and cancellations.
Things got so bad on TransPennine earlier this year that the government took over running their services, not that Mr Holstead and his fellow passengers have noticed much improvement.
This morning’s train is late.
As we stand, squeezed in the train’s corridor because all the seats are taken, Mr Holstead pulls out his phone and shows me a spreadsheet of delays and cancellations.
“It’s getting worse at the moment, the unreliability is creeping up again,” he said.
Train strikes: Full list of dates in December 2023 and rail lines affected
Andrew Holstead travels into Manchester Piccadilly for work
When we reach Manchester, I say goodbye to Mr Holstead and he heads to his office, a little late, and I chat to other regular train travellers.
Many say things are “fine” – and then go on to list the small, sometimes big, but regular inconveniences with their journeys in the last few weeks. There is a sort of shrug of resignation.
My next journey begins in Manchester, bound for London, on a service equally blighted by delays and cancellations.
Avanti West Coast broke records for unreliability this year, just before being given a new contract by the government.
The prime minister’s scrapping of the northern leg of HS2 put increased scrutiny on existing services between the North and South and whether they are up to the job.
The suspicion among passengers is that improvements promised from the money saved will go south, in the wrong sense of the phrase, just like HS2 did.
Mr Holstead keeps track of cancellations in a spreadsheet
My train actually arrives at Euston on time. Many of its passengers don’t though as they were due to be on an earlier service that was cancelled.
And the board at Euston tells me my train back to Manchester has also been cancelled.
My final journey is on a service that performs pretty well for reliability, even if it is the slowest inter-city route in the country.
It takes 48 minutes to cover the 19 miles from Chester to Liverpool, the scenery of the leafy Wirral at least providing a welcome distraction.
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Most passengers are quite content with the service although a young mum who moved to live next to a railway station because she doesn’t drive expressed frustration the trains sometimes skip that station up make up list time.
My experience of these journeys across the country is that passengers want to be able to trust and believe in the rail system, they want it to work.
The Rail Delivery Group says it will continue to focus on making rail services reliable and punctual.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We continue to work closely with operators to ensure they provide the best possible experience for those using our railways and have been clear that we will hold them to account if they let passengers down.”
Talking to those passengers, it is clear no-one expects train services to be perfect, they just want them to be better.
Sir Keir Starmer has said his government stands ready to use industrial policy to “shelter British business from the storm” after Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff kicked in.
The UK was among a number of countries hit with the lowest import duty rate following the president’s announcement on 2 April – which he called ‘Liberation Day’, while other nations, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and China face much higher US levies.
But a global trade war will hurt the UK’s open economy.
The prime minister said “these new times demand a new mentality”, after the 10% tax on British imports into America came into force on Saturday. A 25% US levy on all foreign car imports was introduced on Thursday.
It comes as Jaguar Land Rover announced it would “pause” shipments to the US for a month, as firms grapple with the new taxes.
On Saturday, the car manufacturer said it was working to “address the new trading terms” and was looking to “develop our mid to longer-term plans”.
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Referring to the tariffs, Sir Keir said “the immediate priority is to keep calm and fight for the best deal”.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, he said that in the coming days “we will turbocharge plans that will improve our domestic competitiveness”, adding: “We stand ready to use industrial policy to help shelter British business from the storm.”
It is believed a number of announcements could be made soon as ministers look to encourage growth.
NI contribution rate for employers goes up
From Sunday, the rate of employer NICs (national insurance contributions) increased from 13.8% to 15%.
At the same time, firms will also pay more because the government lowered the salary threshold at which companies start paying NICs from £9,100 to £5,000.
Also, the FTSE 100 of leading UK companies had its worst day of trading since the start of the pandemic on Friday, with banks among some of the firms to suffer the sharpest losses.
Sir Keir said: “This week, the government will do everything necessary to protect Britain’s national interest. Because when global economic sands are shifting, our laser focus on delivering for Britain will not. And these new times demand a new mentality.”
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Trump defiant despite markets
UK spared highest tariff rates
Some of the highest rates have been applied to “worst offender” countries including some in Southeast Asia. Imports from Cambodia will be subject to a 49% tariff, while those from Vietnam will face a 46% rate. Chinese goods will be hit with a 34% tariff.
Imports from France will have a 20% tariff, the rate which has been set for European Union nations. These will come into effect on 9 April.
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Sir Keir has been speaking to foreign leaders on the phone over the weekend, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to discuss the tariff changes.
A Downing Street spokesperson said of the conversation between Sir Keir and Mr Macron: “They agreed that a trade war was in nobody’s interests but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments.
“The prime minister and president also shared their concerns about the global economic and security impact, particularly in Southeast Asia.”
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Trump’s warning
Mr Trump has warned Americans the tariffs “won’t be easy”, but urged them to “hang tough”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before.
“Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast!
“THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”
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