TransPennine Express to be brought under government control due …

Train operator TransPennine Express will not have its contract renewed or extended, the government has announced, after "months of... continuous cancellations".

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said that from 28 May, the service provided by TransPennine Express (TPE) will be brought into the 'operator of last resort', a company that takes ownership of railway franchises on behalf of the government.

It means it will be effectively run by the government.

TPE's services cover northern England and also parts of Scotland.

Announcing the change, the government said: "The decision follows months of significant disruption and regular cancellations across TransPennine Express's network, which has resulted in a considerable decline in confidence for passengers who rely on the trains to get to work, visit family and friends and go about their daily lives."

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According to the government, this is now the fourth railway to be brought under government control - following the East Coast Mainline in June 2018, Northern Rail in March 2020 and London and South Eastern Railway in October 2021.

The process is part of the powers given to the government under the legislation which privatised the railways in 1993.

Recent figures from the Office of Road and Rail show that TPE cancelled an average of one in six services in March this year.