TransPennine Express
Two Class 802 units passing at Northallerton in June 2020
Overview
Franchise(s)TransPennine Express
1 April 2016 – 28 May 2023[1]
Main route(s)North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England, Scotland
Fleet size
Stations operated19
Parent companyFirstGroup
Reporting markTP
PredecessorFirst TransPennine Express
SuccessorTransPennine Trains trading as TransPennine Express
System map

TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited,[2] was a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operated the TransPennine Express franchise. It ran regional and inter-city rail services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland.

The franchise operated almost all its services to and through Manchester covering three main routes. The service provided rail links for major towns and cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield, Hull, Leeds, York, Scarborough, Cleethorpes, Middlesbrough and Newcastle upon Tyne. TPE ran trains 24 hours a day, including through New Year's Eve night. TPE trains ran between York, Leeds and Manchester Airport at least every three hours every night of the week. The franchise operated across the West Coast Main Line, Huddersfield Line, East Coast Main Line and part of the Tees Valley line.

The majority of TPE's rolling stock was procured during the late 2010s under Project Nova. These consist of the Nova 1 (Class 802) BMU trainsets, the Nova 2 Class 397 CAF Civity EMUs, and the Nova 3 Mark 5A fixed-formation carriages paired with Class 68 diesel locomotives. These replaced older rolling stock, such as the Bombardier Turbostar 170/3s and Siemens Desiro 350/4s, as well as some of their Siemens Desiro 185s, although these were still used on some routes. TPE had facilitated an operational shift towards more inter-city style services, although the commuter market remains important.

In May 2023, following a period of poor performance, it was announced that the company's contract would not be renewed and the service taken over by government-owned operator of last resort TransPennine Trains on 28 May 2023, who have continued trading under the TransPennine Express name. The decision to bring the service under the control of the operator of last resort was described as temporary, and it is said to be the UK government’s intention that the franchise will be privatised again.

History

Passenger journeys on the Transpennine franchise from 2010–11 to 2018–19, showing a gradual rise except for a drop in 2016 after some services transferred to Northern.[3]

The TransPennine Express brand was launched in the early 1990s by British Rail's Regional Railways sector.[4] It became part of Regional Railways North East and, on 2 March 1997, was privatised along with the majority of British Rail. Its first private sector operator, Northern Spirit, as well as its successor, Arriva Trains Northern, opted to maintain the brand.[5]

In 2000, the Strategic Rail Authority announced that it planned to reorganise the North West Regional Railways and Regional Railways North East franchises operated by First North Western and Arriva Trains Northern. A TransPennine Express franchise would be created for the long-distance regional services, the remaining services being operated by a new Northern franchise.[6]

In July 2003, the TransPennine franchise was awarded to a joint venture between FirstGroup and Keolis, and the services operated by Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western were transferred to First TransPennine Express on 1 February 2004.[7] On 11 November 2007, the services from the Manchester station group to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central via the West Coast Main Line formerly operated by Virgin CrossCountry were transferred to First TransPennine Express.[8]

In August 2014, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced FirstGroup, Keolis/Go-Ahead and Stagecoach had been shortlisted to bid for the next franchise.[9] During December 2015, FirstGroup was awarded the franchise of TransPennine Express. The effective start date of the new franchise was 1 April 2016 and it was scheduled to run until 31 March 2023, with an option to extend for two years.[10][11][12] The company remained First TransPennine Express, but branded the services as TransPennine Express.

As part of a recasting of the franchise map by the DfT, services from Manchester Airport to Blackpool North; Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness; and Oxenholme Lake District to Windermere were transferred to the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016.[13]

In May 2021, following various COVID-19 emergency measures, the company was given a direct award contract by the DfT running until 28 May 2023.[1]

TransPennine Express was one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–2023 United Kingdom railway strikes, which were the first national rail strikes in the UK for three decades.[14] Its workers were amongst those who are participating in industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions.[15]

On 11 May 2023, after months of continued cancellations and service disruptions, the DfT announced that the company's contract would not be renewed with TPE ceasing operations on 28 May 2023.[16][17] Instead, the service was taken over by operator of last resort TransPennine Trains.[18][19][20]

Services

The TransPennine Express routes were subdivided into three operations:

As of December 2022, TransPennine Express operated the following services off-peak, seven days a week:[22]

North Route
RouteFreq.Calling at
Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle1tph
Liverpool Lime Street to Hull1tph
Manchester Airport to Saltburn1tph
Manchester Piccadilly to Newcastle1tp2h
Manchester Piccadilly to Scarborough1tp2h
York to Scarborough1tp2h
Manchester Piccadilly to Huddersfield1tph
Huddersfield to Leeds1tph
Newcastle to Edinburgh Waverley6tpd
South Route
RouteFreq.Calling at
Liverpool Lime Street to Cleethorpes1tph
Anglo-Scottish Route
RouteFreq.Calling at
Manchester Airport to Glasgow Central1tp2h
Manchester Airport to Edinburgh Waverley1tp2h
Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central2tpd
  1. ↑ Served to pick up only southbound and set down only northbound
TransPennine Express
North Route
3:53
 Edinburgh Waverley (Edinburgh Trams St Andrew Sq.)
3:38
 East Linton
3:30
 Dunbar
3:15
 Reston
3:10
 Berwick-upon-Tweed
2:50
 Alnmouth
2:34
 Morpeth
2:29
 Cramlington
2:14
 Newcastle Tyne and Wear Metro
2:07
 Chester-le-Street
2:00
 Durham
1:47
 Darlington
2:45
 Saltburn
2:35
 Redcar Central
2:21
 Middlesbrough
2:13
 Thornaby
2:02
 Yarm
1:37
 Northallerton
1:34
 Thirsk
2:03
 Scarborough
1:53
 Seamer
1:36
 Malton
1:12
 York
1:54
 Hull Paragon
1:36
 Brough
1:30
 Gilberdyke
1:24
 Howden
1:18
 Selby
1:09
 South Milford
1:08
 Garforth
0:48
 Leeds
1:04
 Cottingley
1:01
 Morley
0:47
 Batley
0:40
 Dewsbury
0:46
 Ravensthorpe
0:43
 Mirfield
0:38
 Deighton
0:29
 Huddersfield
0:28
 Slaithwaite
0:27
 Marsden
0:19
 Greenfield
0:17
 Mossley
0:13
 Stalybridge
0:00
 Manchester Victoria Manchester Metrolink
0:02
 Manchester Oxford Road
0:00
 Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Metrolink
0:06
 East Didsbury Manchester Metrolink
0:08
 Gatley
0:14
 Manchester Airport Airport interchange Manchester Metrolink
0:16
 Newton-le-Willows
0:20
 Lea Green
0:38
 Liverpool Lime Street Merseyrail
Times shown are best times from
Manchester Piccadilly/Manchester Victoria.
TransPennine Express
South Route
3:02
 Cleethorpes
2:49
 Grimsby Town
2:33
 Habrough
2:27
 Barnetby
2:12
 Scunthorpe
2:13
 Althorpe
2:08
 Crowle
1:59
 Thorne South
1:55
 Hatfield and Stainforth
1:50
 Kirk Sandall
1:45
 Doncaster
1:30
 Rotherham Central Sheffield Supertram
1:21
 Meadowhall Sheffield Supertram
1:11
 Sheffield Sheffield Supertram
1:10
 Dore and Totley
0:56
 Stockport
0:42
 Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Metrolink
0:38
 Urmston
0:35
 Irlam
0:33
 Birchwood
0:24
 Warrington Central
0:23
 Warrington West
0:10
 Liverpool South Parkway Merseyrail
0:00
 Liverpool Lime Street Merseyrail
Times shown are best times from
Liverpool Lime Street.
TransPennine Express
Anglo-Scottish Route
3:19
 Edinburgh Waverley (Edinburgh Trams St Andrew Sq.)
3:14
 Haymarket Edinburgh Trams
3:29
 Glasgow Central (Glasgow Subway St Enoch)
3:13
 Motherwell
3:06
 Carstairs
2:15
 Lockerbie
1:55
 Carlisle
1:46
 Penrith
1:23
 Oxenholme Lake District
1:09
 Lancaster
0:51
 Preston
0:31
 Wigan North Western
0:15
 St Helens Central
0:00
 Liverpool Lime Street Merseyrail
0:22
 Bolton
0:18
 Manchester Oxford Road
0:14
 Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Metrolink
0:00
 Manchester Airport Airport interchange Manchester Metrolink
Times shown are best times from
Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Airport.

Rolling stock

When TransPennine Express began operation, it inherited a fleet of four Class 170 and 51 Class 185 DMUs, as well as ten Class 350/4 EMUs, from First TransPennine Express. The Class 170s were transferred to Chiltern Railways, where they were converted to Class 168s.[23] Originally it was planned after all the new trains in the Nova fleet entered service, 22 of the 51 Class 185 DMUs would be returned to Eversholt Rail Group.[24] However these remained with the franchise and allowed services to be strengthened.[25] Further cascades of rolling stock occurred over time; shortly following the introduction of the Class 397 sets during 2020, all ten of the Class 350 EMUs were transferred to West Midlands Trains.[26]

Project Nova

Upon its instatement, TransPennine Express (TPE) services were particularly heavily trafficked; prior to 2018, the operator reportedly operated the busiest trains in the country, and it was common for some passengers to be unable to be seated during rush hour.[27] Reportedly, the franchise also aimed to reorientation its operations towards inter-city services over its inter-urban routes, although it shall continue to transport large numbers of commuters regardless. As a means of addressing these factors, TPE launched Project Nova, under which the vast majority of their existing rolling stock would be replaced by new-build trainsets with greater capacity. During 2016, TPE signed contracts valued at £500 million with Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) to produce the majority of its Nova rolling stock.[26][27] The Nova fleet is divided into three distinct categories; the Nova 1 being (Class 802) BMU sets derived from the Hitachi A-train family, the Nova 2 trainsets being CAF-built Class 397 Civity EMUs, and the Nova 3 sets consisting of locomotive-hauled CAF-built Mark 5A coaches.[27]

The Nova 1 fleet had originally been ordered by TPE's predecessor as part of plans to bolster route capacity by 80%; having contracted with Hitachi Rail Europe for the latter to supply 19 five-car bi-mode trainsets.[27] According to Robin Davis, TPE's head of new trains, a major rationale behind the Nova 1 fleet was its bi-mode capability, noting that electrification ambitions often had much uncertainty, while a bi-mode fleet eliminated the operational risk to such uncertainty. Davis also noted that, in the event of largescale electrification being funded and implemented, the Class 802s could have some of their engines removed to reduce roughly 15% of their weight and thus raise their efficiency.[27] Furthermore, Leo Goodwin, TPE's managing director, has observed that while the Class 802s will have an initial maximum speed of 125 mph, they have the capability of being modified for operating at 140 mph if infrastructure upgrades were to permit such speeds at a future date.[27]

The Nova 2 trainsets were CAF-built Class 397 EMUs, the design being a member of the preexisting Civity range.[27] Davis observed the Class 397 procurement to be a natural fit in light of TPE's desire to rapidly increase capacity and CAF's reputation for speedily producing limited batches of trains. While the Class 397 is capable of attaining a maximum speed of 125 mph, it is be limited to a service speed of 100 mph.[27]

The Nova 3 trainsets use Mark 5A carriages, locomotive-hauled and designed for its inter-city routes.[27] The choice to procure carriages was unusual for the UK market; it was reportedly the first procurement of such rolling stock since the Mark 4 sets for the InterCity 225 during the late 1980s. Davis claims that the expense of constructing DMUs suitable for inter-city services was prohibitive in comparison, and notes that it is to be operated as a fixed-formation push-pull train, not relying on run-arounds as historically performed by locomotive-hauled sets.[27] From the onset, it was planned for these to be hauled by a small fleet of Class 68 locomotives, requiring minor control-oriented modifications by Stadler to do so. According to franchise documents filed with the Department for Transport (DfT), considerations have been made to alternatively hauling the Nova 3 carriages with Class 88 bi-mode locomotives, which are closely related to the Class 68; however, this would be dependent on relatively ambitious, and thus far unfunded, suggestions for widespread electrification in the region being fulfilled.[27]

On 24 August 2019, the first new trains of the Nova fleet entered revenue service; these were the Nova 3 sets, comprising a Class 68 locomotive and a rake of Mark 5A coaches.[28] On 28 September 2019, the Nova 1 (Class 802) sets followed,[29] while operations of the Nova 2 trainsets (Class 397) commenced on 30 November 2019.[30] TPE officially launched the Nova fleet on 22 November at Liverpool Lime Street station.[31]

Fleet on termination of service

Family Class Image Type Top speed Number Carriages Routes operated Built
 mph   km/h 
Diesel multiple units
Siemens Desiro 185 DHMU 100 160 51 3 North Route, South Route 2005–2006
Bi-mode multiple units
Hitachi AT300 802 Nova 1 BMU 124 200[32] 19 5
  • Liverpool Lime Street – Newcastle
  • Manchester Piccadilly – Newcastle
  • Edinburgh – Newcastle
  • Edinburgh – Liverpool Lime Street
 2017–2019
Electric multiple units
CAF Civity 397 Nova 2 EMU 125 200 12 5 Anglo-Scottish Route
  • Manchester Airport – Carlisle
 2017–2019[33]
Locomotive hauled stock
Stadler UKLight 68 Diesel locomotive 100[34] 160 14[35] 5
  • Manchester Piccadilly – Scarborough
  • York – Scarborough
 2016–2017
CAF Mark 5A Nova 3 Coach 125 200 52 2017–2018
Driving Trailer 14[36]

Past fleet

Former units operated by TransPennine Express include:

Family Class Image Type  mph   km/h  Number Carriages Routes operated Built Left fleet
Bombardier Turbostar 170 DMU 100 160 4[37] 2 Manchester Piccadilly / Airport-Cleethorpes / Hull / York 2000 2016
Siemens Desiro 350 EMU 110 177 10 4 Anglo-Scottish Route 2013–2014 2019–2020

Managed stations

An example of TransPennine Express signage at Scarborough

TransPennine Express services ran over large areas of northern England and southern Scottish Lowlands. Many of the largest stations they served are managed by other train operating companies or Network Rail.

TransPennine Express managed the following 19 stations:[13][38]

Some stations from the former franchise operator First TransPennine Express were transferred to Northern. These include Arnside, Barrow-in-Furness, Birchwood, Burneside, Carnforth, Grange-over-Sands, Kendal, Staveley, Ulverston, Warrington Central and Windermere.[13]

Depots and servicing

Siemens maintained the Class 185 fleet at Ardwick depot in Manchester with a smaller facility in York. Scottish stabling points for both stock included Polmadie TRSMD (Glasgow) and Craigentinny T.&R.S.M.D. (Edinburgh). Hitachi maintained the Class 802 fleet at Doncaster Carr and Craigentinny.[39] The new EMUs and loco-hauled sets were to be maintained by Alstom, on behalf of TransPennine Express, at Longsight (Manchester), Edge Hill (Liverpool) and Polmadie (Glasgow).[33] During 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, TPE invested £1.7 million into highly stringent rolling stock cleaning practices; these reportedly represented a 70% upsurge on pre-COVID-19 hygiene practices.[40]

TransPennine Express had depots for its train crews at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport (conductors), York, Newcastle, Scarborough, Hull, Cleethorpes, Sheffield, Preston, Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central.

Criticism

The TransPennine Express service was often criticised. A satirical article in 2022 called it the "ironically named TransPennine Express. You'd hate to take the non-Express service. It might be quicker to walk."[41]

The Guardian reported cancellations of 20-30% in October and November 2022[42] and 23% for the four weeks of 5 February to 4 March 2023.[43]

References

  1. 1 2 "National Rail Contract TransPennine Express" (PDF). Department for Transport. 19 May 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "FIRST TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS LIMITED – Overview (free company information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. ↑ "Passenger journeys by train operating company – Table 12.12 | ORR Data Portal". Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Collections Online – Objects". collectionsonline.nmsi.ac.uk.
  5. ↑ "Northern Spirit is brand new name for Regional Railways North East". Rail. No. 332. 3 June 1998. p. 7.
  6. ↑ The Trans-Pennine Express rail franchise Archived 20 October 2004 at the Wayback Machine. Yorkshire & The Humber Transport Activist's Roundtable Briefing Note October 2001.
  7. ↑ "SRA Announce Preferred Bidder For TransPennine Express Franchise" (PDF) (Press release). Strategic Rail Authority. 28 July 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "New Cross Country Franchise Consultation Document" (PDF). Department for Transport. June 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Shortlist for Northern and TransPennine operators revealed". Department for Transport. 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "FirstGroup awarded TransPennine Express franchise". Rail Technology Magazine. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Arriva and First chosen for Northern and TransPennine franchises". International Railway Journal. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "FirstGroup plc welcomes award of TransPennine Express rail franchise". firstgroupplc.com. 9 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "Stakeholder Briefing Document and Consultation Response" (PDF). Department for Transport. 27 February 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Rail strike: RMT union votes for national action". BBC News. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "The dates of the train, Tube and bus strikes this week, and how services will be affected". i (newspaper). 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "TransPennine Express loses contract over poor service". BBC News. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  17. ↑ Topham, Gwyn (11 May 2023). "TransPennine Express nationalised for catalogue of failings and poor service". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS TO TRANSFER TO GOVERNMENT OPERATOR". TransPennine Express. 11 May 2023. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "Transpennine Express to be brought into operator of last resort". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "TransPennine Express comes under government control". BBC News. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "TransPennine Express Route Map (Geographic)" (PDF). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "Timetables". tpexpress.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  23. ↑ 170s bow out with TPE Today's Railways UK issue 177 September 2016 page 68
  24. ↑ "TfGMC – Item 05b TPE – New Franchise presentation". transportforgreatermanchestercommittee.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  25. ↑ 68s to Cleethorpes from May Modern Railways issue 880 January 2022 page 21
  26. 1 2 Briginshaw, David (23 May 2016). "CAF to supply trains to TransPennine Express". International Rail Journal. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Clinnick, Richard (26 August 2019). "TPE's new trains". railmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  28. ↑ "TPE Nova 3 enters service | Modern Railways". Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  29. ↑ "First Nova 1 trainset enters revenue service with TPE". Railway Gazette International. 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 October 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  30. ↑ "Nova 2 enters service at last". Railway Gazette International. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  31. ↑ "TransPennine Express launches new £500m fleet". 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  32. ↑ "Speed limiters for Hitachi fleets". Traction & Stock. The Railway Magazine. Vol. 168, no. 1457. August 2022. p. 92.
  33. 1 2 "More new trains for the North and Scotland". First Transpennine Express. 20 May 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  34. ↑ "Class 68 Specification". Rail Magazine. October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  35. ↑ New-build DRS Class 68s to operate TPE's Mk 5 rakes Archived 30 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine – PressReader.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  36. ↑ "First view of TransPennine livery on a Class 68 loco". The Railway Magazine. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  37. ↑ DfT (22 December 2015). "TPE Franchise Agreement" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  38. ↑ "Safe and sound train stations". First Transpennine Express. October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  39. ↑ "Hitachi awarded TransPennine Express multiple unit contract". Railway Gazette International. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  40. ↑ Cowen, Ailsa (15 October 2020). "£1.7m invested by TransPennine Express into further cleaning measures". railtechnologymagazine.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  41. ↑ Crace, John (1 December 2022). "Urgent question on railways chaos sends the Tories running for the hills". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  42. ↑ Pidd, Helen (27 November 2022). "Revealed: north of England train line vastly under-reports cancellations". Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  43. ↑ Pidd, Helen (11 May 2023). "Nobody believes me when I tell them how bad TransPennine Express is". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
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