Better journeys for passengers on TransPennine Express
RAIL passengers in the north of England
will soon benefit from more seats, better services and free Wi-Fi at stations as
part of a new agreement between the government and First TransPennine Express.
The deal means that First TransPennine Express will continue to operate services
across the north for another year until April 2016, paving the way for the start
of a new franchise. The competition to appoint the next operators for both the
TPE and Northern franchises, which will transform travel for passengers across
the region, is currently underway.
Rail Minister Claire Perry said:- "We have ambitious plans for rail across
the north of England, with more than £1 billion being invested in the region's
railways. We have set out how we will transform rail services across the north
over the next few years, but we are determined that passengers shouldn't have to
wait to see much needed improvements. This agreement with First TransPennine
Express will make a real difference to passengers, paving the way for the next
franchise to further develop a railway the north of England is proud of."
Under the new directly awarded franchise, First TransPennine Express will:-
► Introduce free Wi-Fi at all major TransPennine stations.
► Implement 'smart' enabled ticket machines and gates at
Huddersfield station, allowing the use of West Yorkshire's smart 'mcard'.
► Provide technical modifications to improve the reliability of existing
trains.
► Continue to provide 700 additional seats between York and Liverpool
every day implemented in December 2014, along with further increases in capaCity
from May this year.
► Invest in new customer information facilities at key stations.
► Deliver a programme of customer service training for staff accredited by
World Host.
The deal will ensure continuity of services before the new franchise starts in
2016. Earlier this year, the government agreed a plan with the operator to
maintain services, increase capaCity and bring in additional trains following a
decision by the rolling stock industry to move trains running on the
TransPennine route to the Chiltern franchise.
Last month, the government set out the improvements it expects the next operator
of the TransPennine Express franchise to deliver, through publication of the
Invitations to Tender.
This includes providing extra capaCity through more carriages, increased
frequencies or more services, additional Sunday services and introducing free
Wi-Fi on all trains by 2020. TPE will work closely with Network Rail and
other stakeholders in the region to ensure the government's plans for
transformation of the railway in the north of England begin to take effect.
The 3 operators have been shortlisted to run the next franchise are:- First TransPennine Express Limited; Keolis Go-Ahead Limited; and Stagecoach TransPennine Express Trains Limited.
