Government Nationalizes TransPennine Express Train Services

The operation of the services has been brought under the control of the Department for Transport's Operator of Last Resort.

The new management of the service will allow the unions to allow their workforce to work rest days as they did previously, which should improve performance and reduce cancellations.

Passengers will not notice any immediate changes to the trains, fares, timetables, or staff.

TransPennine Express suffered from widespread delays and cancellations in the past year, which was partly due to drivers from the Aslef union not volunteering to work overtime shifts.

The nationalisation of the service is seen as a "reset moment" and is expected to improve reliability for passengers.

The government already has responsibility for services operated by other companies, but this is the first time they have taken over a train operator.