Scarborough politicians and locals welcome TransPennine Express nationalisation as ‘very good news’

The decision to not renew or extend the rail contract held by TransPennine Express (TPE) was announced on Thursday, May 11 after the Government decided that the operator had failed to make necessary improvements.

The rail regulator recently found that TPE, which is owned by FirstGroup, was the worst in the country for cancellations and the Department for Transport said the decision followed “months of significant disruption and regular cancellations” across the network.

The nationalisation of the service after TPE’s contract comes to an end on May 28 has been welcomed by Conservative and Labour politicians, as well as members of the public in Scarborough.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Sir Robert Goodwill MP, said he hoped the decision would improve the service but asked for patience from passengers as he said changes would take time to implement.

The MP for Scarborough and Whitby said: “Overall, this is very good news and on the one hand I’m pleased because it punishes FirstGroup for not doing the service right but it does mean we have an opportunity to put things right, though it won’t happen overnight.”

He added: “I think this is absolutely the right decision from the Government.

“We are in a sort of expectation management situation because things aren’t going to change right away.”

The move has also been welcomed by Alison Hume, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Scarborough and Whitby who said: “Finally, after years of failure and misery for Yorkshire commuters, the government has announced it won’t renew its contract with TransPennine Express.

“This should have happened months ago. For too long the service has failed to run on time or even run at all whilst – shareholders have continued to pocket millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.”

Ms Hume added: “The shaming of TPE is yet another nail in the coffin of the failed privatised rail experiment. This is now the fourth privatised rail company the government has had to take back into public ownership proving the Conservative’s privatised model is collapsing.

“Only Labour will deliver the fundamental change needed to transform our railways and our public transport system.”

The decision to bring TransPennine Express into the control of the so-called “operator of last resort” is temporary, according to the Government, which said that it intends to return the service to the private sector.

Sue Rawson, who lives near the TPE depot in Scarborough, said she has been “ blighted by the noise” from the depot and hoped that the decision to nationalise would lead to improvements.

Ms Rawson said: “I do not expect a ‘quick fix’. The operator of last resort will take on a huge job rectifying the years of deterioration in service, choice of rolling stock and its disposition, and poor relationships with staff, rail users and noise complainants like myself.

“I just hope that new management personnel will result in not only improved communication with people like myself who complain about the noise nuisance they create by maintaining and running noisy Nova3 engines in residential areas but that we actually see some action to stop the noise…. something that has not happened despite complaints over three years.”

FirstGroup’s chief executive, Graham Sutherland, said: “FirstGroup is a leading UK rail operator with a strong and diversified portfolio.

"Today’s decision does not alter our belief in the important role of private rail operators in the delivery of vital, environmentally friendly transport for customers and communities across the UK.”