(27 Apr 2022, 8:04 pm)Jimmi wrote Most people who use TPE on a regular basis share that sentiment, myself included

I’ve been touch wood ok using them lately but I tend to travel either very early in the morning or early afternoon where demand is a lot lower. 

Im not going to make Victoria now due to a meeting clash so it’s a 2 hour delay into Newcastle which means TPE forking out for my outward too!

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65555262

Inevitable really. Just surprised the announcement has taken this long.

We knew worst group express was going to be nationalised. It was more of just when not why and I am suprised it did take this long

Why is there so many cancellations, are they hiring for drivers?

What's the penalty for getting stripped of the contract?
Is it worse than giving it up voluntarily?

(11 May 2023, 9:29 pm)streetdeckfan wrote What's the penalty for getting stripped of the contract?
Is it worse than giving it up voluntarily?

The lack of income from the remainder of the contract is probably enough of a penalty.

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(11 May 2023, 9:31 pm)Adrian wrote The lack of income from the remainder of the contract is probably enough of a penalty.

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It depends if the contract was profitable for them.
Perhaps getting stripped of the contract was the preferable option and that's why they made no effort to improve

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(12 May 2023, 9:25 am)streetdeckfan wrote It depends if the contract was profitable for them.
Perhaps getting stripped of the contract was the preferable option and that's why they made no effort to improve

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To be honest, I do think there was some improvement on paper. 
3 car 185's doubled-up, new rolling stock, extensions from Redcar to Saltburn etc. 

However those commitments were made a long time ago (pre-pandemic), before employee and customer relations got worse. 

Turning it around, improving those relations, improving staff retention and training new staff is quite a long-term task and they've clearly not achieved it.

Financially - no idea if it was profitable/worthwile or not.
It must have been at some point, otherwise they wouldn't have kept the contract/tendered for it repeatedly over the years.

(12 May 2023, 9:36 am)Andreos1 wrote To be honest, I do think there was some improvement on paper. 
3 car 185's doubled-up, new rolling stock, extensions from Redcar to Saltburn etc. 

However those commitments were made a long time ago (pre-pandemic), before employee and customer relations got worse. 

Turning it around, improving those relations, improving staff retention and training new staff is quite a long-term task and they've clearly not achieved it.

Financially - no idea if it was profitable/worthwile or not.
It must have been at some point, otherwise they wouldn't have kept the contract/tendered for it repeatedly over the years.

The government need to take some blame for it. The railways over the Pennines are Victorian and should've been well on the way for major improvements by now. Instead they've made more plans than GNE route changes and the thing isn't fit for the 21st Century and have gone for sticking some wires up and not an awful lot more.

Why put up with all that crap as a driver when you can go work for LNER instead and have it easy.

I will say the amount of GNE drivers etc which I've heard talking about doing interviews with LNER is ridiculous and I know a few have left for LNER as well.

(12 May 2023, 6:49 pm)Storx wrote The government need to take some blame for it. The railways over the Pennines are Victorian and should've been well on the way for major improvements by now. Instead they've made more plans than GNE route changes and the thing isn't fit for the 21st Century and have gone for sticking some wires up and not an awful lot more.

Why put up with all that crap as a driver when you can go work for LNER instead and have it easy.

100%, I agree.
But there's nothing TPE can do about that, other than put pressure on the government.
It's an external factor. 

What they can do, is focus on all of the internal pressures and factors, doing something about them and fixing them.
From the outside looking in, they've not fixed them.

An interesting one to note is that from December the Saltburn service is being curtailed back to Redcar (with the exception of one early morning service to Manchester and two evening services from Manchester heading back to York). In addition (or perhaps instead of) all services will now call at Eaglescliffe.

BUt it leaves the layover time very little