Given how terrible the service is on TPEx I do not understand why the same small number of contributors to this thread are sympathetic towards them. Maybe you are Leo Goodwin and his cronies?
The level of cancellation is intolerable in my opinion.
But what’s your suggestion for how to organise things differently?
As I understand it the original plan was to introduce trains to services in the following order:
1. Liverpool to Scarborough
2. Man Air to Redcar
3. Liverpool/Manchester to Scotland via-WCML
4. Liverpool to Newcastle/Edinburgh
5. Manchester Airport to Newcastle
Again, as I understand it, due to trains being delivered late they are currently trying to train staff on several routes all at once.
As I suggested above, one solution would have been to proceed with the original plan and store any trains that they were not yet ready to introduce. So, store Nova 1 and Nova 2 trains whilst training and introduction of the Nova 3 trains is completed. The problem there would have been lots of expensive trains sitting around in sidings (and doubtless complaints about that).
Another alternative would have been to employ lots of additional train crew to provide cover whilst other staff trained on the new traction. The problem there is that it takes a minimum of 9 months to train a driver, usually nearer to 12 months. For a conductor I understand the training period for a new recruit is around 5 months. So, not a quick fix. In addition, whilst adverts for train drivers often bring around 2000 applicants, the pass rate for the initial stages is around 1 to 2 percent and then some drop out after the start of training. It’s a specialist and highly skilled job, you can’t ring up an agency and suddenly get an extra 50 train drivers.
Supposing though for a minute TPE had a crystal ball and realised in say 2018 that they would need extra staff for autumn 2019. Train drivers attract a good wage, and rightly so for the skilled and responsible job that they do. That’s an expensive resource to have sitting around in the mess room once all the new trains are introduced.
I’m not for a moment suggesting that the current level of service is acceptable, TPE themselves have admitted that. What I am suggesting is that there are no quick fixes or easy answers.
Please do feel free to share your own plan for improving the situation.