30% of TPE services cancelled Thursday 8 June

[Dan G]

Train Beacon detected that TransPennine Express has 30.75% of timetabled services cancelled up until the end of the day.

From https://twitter.com/TrainBeacon/status/1666673424884719619?t=2SSutU8KpvCwsH825lOiPw&s=19

That seems an extraordinary figure. Anyone know what's up?

 

[EZJ]

What's always been up, not enough drivers to cover the service, summer leave kicking in as well now.

 

[bob007]

It’s a day ending in Y

 

[Sly Old Fox]

They don’t have enough drivers.

 

[43066]

Not enough drivers and no rest day work agreement in place.

 

[62484GlenLyon]

Also not helping the cause was the OLE issue on the WCML south of Lockerbie which trapped 2 TPE service for several hours.

 

[Watershed]

Not enough drivers and no rest day work agreement in place.

There is an agreement in place - at the same, incredibly generous rate as before - but immediately after agreeing it, ASLEF turned around and said they wouldn't sanction any overtime. Hardly cricket, is it!

 

[td97]

Also not helping the cause was the OLE issue on the WCML south of Lockerbie which trapped 2 TPE service for several hours.

There are no TPE cancellations (full or part) currently listed for the WCML route.

 

[62484GlenLyon]

There are no TPE cancellations (full or part) currently listed for the WCML route.

I didn't read OP correctly - I assumed it referred to yesterday.

 

[EZJ]

There is an agreement in place - at the same, incredibly generous rate as before - but immediately after agreeing it, ASLEF turned around and said they wouldn't sanction any overtime. Hardly cricket, is it!

And why do you think they did that? Oh yes that's right the management decided to abuse nearly every T&C we have, hardly surprising drivers don't want to work on their DAYS OFF!!

 

[NorthOxonian]

There are no TPE cancellations (full or part) currently listed for the WCML route.

Looking at JourneyCheck the worst affected routes seem to be in the North East - nearly all of the Saltburn services are cancelled and so are most of the Newcastle. The other routes don't seem as badly hit (though still have a few cancellations here and there).

 

[Watershed]

And why do you think they did that? Oh yes that's right the management decided to abuse nearly every T&C we have, hardly surprising drivers don't want to work on their DAYS OFF!!

That's the allegation, yes. But even if it were true, it's not exactly negotiating in good faith to agree a new RDW deal and then immediately kybosh it.

 

[43066]

There is an agreement in place - at the same, incredibly generous rate as before

The rate you assured us several times would never be made available again .

but immediately after agreeing it, ASLEF turned around and said they wouldn't sanction any overtime. Hardly cricket, is it!

Apparently the company has been reneging on long-standing agreements it has entered into with ASLEF. Also hardly cricket…

That's the allegation, yes. But even if it were true, it's not exactly negotiating in good faith to agree a new RDW deal and then immediately kybosh it.

Yet you’ve previously said you have no problem with TOCs reneging on agreements ASLEF have entered into in good faith because “things change”.

What’s good for the goose is surely good for the gander…

 

[KevL]

its certainly not helping the holiday business here in Scarbro, and the A64 is real bad at the moment.

 

[EZJ]

That's the allegation, yes. But even if it were true, it's not exactly negotiating in good faith to agree a new RDW deal and then immediately kybosh it.

I assure you it's no allegation, and as has been pointed out to you if the company can simply back out of agreements at a whim so can the drivers.

 

[westv]

I assure you it's no allegation, and as has been pointed out to you if the company can simply back out of agreements at a whim so can the drivers.

And the poor passenger is left in the middle becoming a pawn for management and driver games.

 

[CAF397]

That's the allegation, yes. But even if it were true, it's not exactly negotiating in good faith to agree a new RDW deal and then immediately kybosh it.

The RDW was agreed nationally at ASLEF Executive level - in good faith.

They then acted on a local dispute-which TPE ASLEF members have been balloted for and opted for strike and action short of strike, by withdrawing the RDW agreement because of continuous breaches of terms and conditions by various managers and departments.

That's fairly simple to understand. The T&Cs which drivers are employed by are written in black and white, yet certain managers within the company keep trying to manipulate them and override them.

All that's happened is the RDW agreement is suspended until ASLEF get confirmation that their members have a guarantee they can work to their agreed T&Cs without risk of being reported for refusing to do something they don't have to do, amongst several other major T&C breaches.

Let's not also forget that this spills back to December 2021 when the same management reneigned on industry agreed frameworks for Covid by not reintroducing practices during the 'Omicron work from home' panic. It was that decision that withdrew the previously agreed RDW deal, and some may point to that meeting as the downfall of the former TPE company. Relationships grew frostier and goodwill quickly shrank. With it any chance of running a near full timetable, which we able to do before RDW was pulled.

 

[43066]

And the poor passenger is left in the middle becoming a pawn for management and driver games.

But note it’s the company - not ASLEF - that’s selling tickets to passengers for a service it then can’t provide.

 

[CAF397]

And the poor passenger is left in the middle becoming a pawn for management and driver games.

Indeed, and passengers do have my sympathy for this. The service TPE currently offers is shameful.

But be assured there are no games from guards or drivers. Apart from the national pay dispute where we are striking, all drivers are currently doing is their contracted 1820 hours per year (average 35 hours per week). Any trains being cancelled due to no drivers is not down to any unlawful action, but simply due to a shortage of employed drivers or drivers who have not been trained on stock or routes.

 

[Snow1964]

And why do you think they did that? Oh yes that's right the management decided to abuse nearly every T&C we have, hardly surprising drivers don't want to work on their DAYS OFF!!

If the drivers are choosing not to do voluntary overtime anyway, then don't need a Union wasting its time having an overtime ban for non-existent overtime, unless it feels it is failing and needs an ego trip.

 

[3RDGEN]

From https://twitter.com/TrainBeacon/status/1666673424884719619?t=2SSutU8KpvCwsH825lOiPw&s=19

That seems an extraordinary figure. Anyone know what's up?

Not a bad day for TPE then, regulars have now given up on TPE and just use the alternative operators that duplicate most of their routes anyway. Can't see why TPE are still "serving" Hull with the hourly Northern service running to Leeds.

Until they publish a timetable they can resource reliable then there will be cancellations as an ongoing issue.

 

[marsker]

I understand that a number of drivers have chosen not to transfer to the new company under TUPE rights. This will have exacerbated the situation.

 

[John Luxton]

Was there really any point removing the First Group franchise and passing TPE to the OLR because of performance issues?

A few days ago it was announced that there was not likely to be an quick improvement in service and it is clear from this post things appear to be not staying the same but actually getting worse.

Presumably most of the staff have remained the same and thus the same staff who appear reluctant to work are carrying on just as before?

 

[dunc695]

There are no TPE cancellations (full or part) currently listed for the WCML route.

Must be having a good day on the WCML, but the day's young and tomorrow could be a totally different story.

 

[CAF397]

Presumably most of the staff have remained the same and thus the same staff who appear reluctant to work are carrying on just as before?

Here is the thing, staff are working, they are just working their contracted hours. An absolute right to do that.

Again, it seems the fingers being pointed the wrong way.

 

[yorkie]

Is there anything new today? Or is this just the longstanding industrial relations issue which have been debated extensively before.

Can anyone advise of actual trains departing from York towards Manchester for this afternoon please? They are all showing as cancelled, but it can't be the case that there are no trains whatsoever; can anyone advise if I should be taking Northern on a TPE Only ticket, or should I be going via Sheffield, or something else?

There doesn't seem to be any information regarding what to do!

 

[43066]

If the drivers are choosing not to do voluntary overtime anyway, then don't need a Union wasting its time having an overtime ban for non-existent overtime, unless it feels it is failing and needs an ego trip.

Yet when drivers do that, as on Avanti west coast, the union still somehow gets blamed.

Your suggestion that the union is failing is also somewhat laughable, in context of a franchise that has just been renationalised due to poor performance..

Honestly - the desperation of some posters to attack ASLEF is quite extraordinary!

can anyone advise if I should be taking Northern on a TPE Only ticket, or should I be going via Sheffield, or something else?

If there isn’t anything specific in place, it may well be worth approaching a Northern guard and asking if you can use a Northern service. Probably what I would do on those circumstances, depending on journey.

EDIT: and also agreed it’s a p*ss poor deal for you as a passenger currently - I hope you aren’t too delayed today.

 

[DarloRich]

I saw Helen Pidd of the Guardian has been looking into this but it looks like the usual IR issues!

 

[800001]

I understand that a number of drivers have chosen not to transfer to the new company under TUPE rights. This will have exacerbated the situation.

They still have to give 6 months notice so they have not just suddenly left

 

[thedbdiboy]

Is there anything new today? Or is this just the longstanding industrial relations issue which have been debated extensively before.

Can anyone advise of actual trains departing from York towards Manchester for this afternoon please? They are all showing as cancelled, but it can't be the case that there are no trains whatsoever; can anyone advise if I should be taking Northern on a TPE Only ticket, or should I be going via Sheffield, or something else?

There doesn't seem to be any information regarding what to do!

I agree that the travelling public are the collateral damage in this (and the other) disputes. Looking on the TPE website there seems a remarkable lack of highlighting as to what to do, but I found that by looking in the JourneyCheck part, specific information is provided against each cancellation about what alternative services can be used (including case-by-case whether another operator's service can be used) or indeed if there is a replacement bus.
On the more general subject of interavailability, I would agree that this shouldn't be restricted by operator for the sake of it (especially as Northern/XC/TPE/LNER are all publicly-funded services under contract to DfT). However, given the generally crowded nature of so many XC and Northern services I can also see that a free-for-all is nor particularly helpful either. None of it bodes well for the current health of the railway, but now that the 'dream' of effective nationalisation has been achieved. people are (re-)discovering that Governments are a lot less willing to spend money to solve things than private companies whose revenue depends on actually running trains.
(Yes, I know this dispute originates from FirstGroup operation but not as a revenue risk operator. It is having the revenue risk - and the financial freedom to negotiate - that makes the difference).