'Surely easier to list which trains are running': Fury as TransPennine Express cancels 55 trains in one day

A train operator has come under fire from angry passengers after announcing the cancellation of 55 trains in a single day on Wednesday.

TransPennine Express, which runs regional and inter-city trains between cities and towns in the north including Manchester, said on its website the cancellations were made 'as a result of ongoing issues'. "Surely easier to list which trains are running," said one passenger on Twitter. "You know, like a timetable. They're a disgrace."

The operator posted a long list of the cancelled trains on its website - with the vast majority of them affecting Manchester Piccadilly railway station.

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The trains on Wednesday were cancelled on the Manchester-Edinburgh line; the Manchester-Sheffield/Doncaster/Cleethorpes line; Liverpool-Newcastle; Manchester/Leeds-Huddersfield/Hull; Liverpool/Manchester/Leeds - Huddersfield/Leeds/York/Scarborough and the Manchester-Liverpool line.

In addition, the list for Wednesday, a non-strike day, included 10 'amended services' with changed start and final destination stations.

TransPennine Express, following on from Avanti West Coast, announced a temporary timetable would come into force on September 12 leading to reduced services. TPE at the time blamed 'higher-than-normal sickness levels and ongoing industrial relations issues' for the move, together with a 'training backlog as a direct result of Covid'.

The operator, which is owned by FirstGroup, said it would reduce the number of planned trains between north-west England and Scotland by 23 per cent in a further blow for passengers who use the West Coast Main Line.

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