By Over 20 Cleethorpes trains cancelled as TransPennine saga continues
TransPennine Express has cancelled 48 trains today, with nearly half of them travelling between Cleethorpes and Manchester.
Passengers have reported ongoing chaos and frustration for nearly year as many trains are cancelled last-minute by the train operator, with TPE blaming staff sickness and a training backlog.
TransPennine said on Twitter: “Due to higher-than-normal levels of sickness and a training backlog due to COVID, there are many cancellations between Manchester and Cleethorpes today.
“Rail Replacement has been requested along the route, please check before you travel.”
Many have called for action, with Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers calling the service a ‘disgrace’ and asking the Department for Transport to remove the Cleethorpes to Manchester from TPE.
Mayors from across the North will also gather with TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, and Northern to discuss the ongoing ‘shambles’ in a scheduled emergency response.
“Since then, prolonged disruption affecting our services has been caused by a range of issues including ongoing high levels of train crew sickness, a persisting training backlog as a direct result of Covid, and infrastructure issues outside of TPE’s control. Combined, these factors have seen a number of on-the-day or ‘evening before’ cancellations being made.
“In normal circumstances, we have enough people to fully operate our scheduled timetable – and have more drivers now than ever before – however the combination of factors has put unprecedented pressure on our ability to effectively operate our services.
“Our customers want, and deserve, reliable and punctual train services, and we are sorry have not been able to consistently provide that due to the ongoing issues. TPE’s team continues to work flat-out to deliver higher levels of service delivery and to tackle the issues that are being experienced by customers.”
