On Monday I went from Penrith to Lancaster then went to Lancaster ticket office to purchase a day return ticket to Silverdale (cheaper with a split). The seller asked me whether I REALLY wanted to go to Silverdale as Northern had already cancelled five trains on the Barrow line that day and it was only lunchtime, and he couldn't guarantee ANY would be running to get me back! I took the plunge as I didn't want a day in Lancaster and the next train out did actually run, although it was a TPE unit. And by late afternoon the service seemed to have settled, though I came back early with a bus contingency plan in mind just in case. So did TPE help Northern out of a hole, and will they continue doing this?