Transpennine Express have announced that they will be cutting back services in the region blaming sustained high levels of sickness and a training backlog as a direct result of Covid.
The revised plan, which is being brought in from Monday 12 September, will see a number of changes for those using TPE’s services on the route between Manchester/Liverpool, Preston, Lancaster and Edinburgh/Glasgow.
The train operator says that the changes are being made to provide a more stable and reliable service following recent disruption caused by a range of issues including sustained high levels of sickness and a training backlog as a direct result of Covid. Combined, these factors have seen a number of on-the-day or ‘evening before’ cancellations being made. Such cancellations are expected to be significantly reduced under this temporary amended timetable.
Jerry Farquharson, Service Planning & Performance Director at TransPennine Express, 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.
“We have put in place measures to communicate this revised timetable to any affected customers and believe that by bringing this timetable in, we will help customers have more confidence and certainty in the delivery of our services.”
