TAKING THE EXPRESS OUT OF TRANSPENNINE RAIL AS JOURNEY TIMES INCREASE FROM MAY

Chamber invites train firm boss and MPs to ‘summit’ in Hull over downgrading of Hull-Manchester route to 10-station stopper service

THE Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce is inviting Leo Goodwin, the Managing Director of TransPennine Express, to a meeting in Hull with MPs, rail consultants and business leaders to explain his company’s downgrading of Hull’s vital rail links to a “stopping service”.

The Chamber is seriously concerned by TransPennine Express’s introduction in May this year of what will be a “stopping service” on rail journeys between Hull, Leeds and Manchester which will incorporate 10 intermediate stops (six more than before).

Despite raising concerns about the plans during the formal consultation process in conjunction with Hull City Council, and in a personal letter to TransPennine’s Managing Director Leo Goodwin, from the Chamber’s Chief Executive Dr Ian Kelly, the proposed changes appear to still be going ahead.

The Chamber is now inviting Mr Goodwin to Hull to meet with Diana Johnson and other local MPs, Hull City Council and East Riding Council representatives, along with our Rail Development Consultants, to discuss ways of addressing this very unsatisfactory situation which business believes will have a negative effect on the “Energy Estuary’s” economy and connectivity across the Northern Powerhouse.

In particular, the Chamber disputes claims by TransPennine Express that the journey time would only be marginally increased by 2 minutes – the journey time will in fact increase substantially, set against a backdrop of route improvements for Newcastle and even Scarborough which will benefit from faster services from May. 

Chamber rail consultants have analysed the changes and point out that the Hull-Manchester service will now have 10 intermediate stops, (up from just four), and will (even optimistically) take an extra 6 minutes according to official sources. 

This is in sharp contrast to the services between Scarborough and Liverpool, which will be 22 minutes quicker and Newcastle to Liverpool which will be 26 minutes quicker. 

These changes are highly detrimental to rail travel along the trans-Pennine corridor and fly in the face of the stated aims of Transport for the North, to create a ‘Liverpool to Hull corridor of power’. 

There is no justification for millions of pounds being spent on new, longer trains running to a much quicker timetable between a town the size of Scarborough, whilst its Hull and the Energy Estuary’s rail services are downgraded to a local stopping service which fails even to connect with Manchester Airport or Liverpool. 

Against many incoming improvements by Northern Rail across the North of England, the Hull route has continually been held back and is now being downgraded under TransPennine, which following these latest developments, is clearly now stifling growth opportunities for the Humber. 

The Chamber is calling on TransPennine to look again at its Hull services and timetabling, or with our MPs we will look to lobby the Department for Transport to find better options.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE CHAMBER'S LETTER TO TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS.