RMT Press Office:
RMT called on the government to take Transpennine Express (TPE) into public ownership following ORR data published today showing the company is still cancelling 1 in 5 of its trains, despite planning 600 fewer than the previous period.
Passengers endured another period of chaos between March and April, with TPE planning 600 fewer (10%) trains, cancelling or part-cancelling more than 500 and planned cancellation of almost 600 more.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Passengers can’t afford to wait while Mark Harper and Steve Montgomery work out how they can shuffle figures around to keep Firstgroup in the rail market.
“TPE planned fewer trains and cancelled 1 in 5 of the ones it did schedule.
“This company has become a symbol of a broken system that has dropped any pretence of working for passengers.
“It’s being run by people who see it as nothing more than a machine for turning tax revenue into dividends and it’s being supported by a government who are desperately propping up a zombie private sector. Passengers deserve better and TPE should be transferred to the public sector Operator of Last Resort without further delay”.
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