The Ministry of Transport has indicated that the “Transpennine” contract will not be renewed after May 28.
Services previously operated by the company will then be transferred to an “operator of last resort”, meaning that a company will step in on behalf of the state to take over management of the service.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: ‘After months of non-stop cancellations for northern travelers and businesses, I have decided to make Transpennine Express an operator of last resort.’
Around one in six trains were canceled in March, an unprecedented rate in the UK.
The Minister of Transport warned that “it is not a miracle solution and will not immediately solve a number of problems”, accusing in particular the “Aslev” union of train drivers, which has been organizing strikes for several months to increase the wages in many railway companies in Great Britain, to prevent the “Transpennine Express” belonging to the company “First Group”, from providing full services.
“While some progress has been made in recent months, it has been decided, in order to achieve the levels of performance that passengers deserve and that the northern economy needs, to review the contract,” he said. he declares.
He added that the decision to entrust these services to “an operator of last resort is temporary” and that “the government has every intention of returning them to the private sector”.
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