TransPennine Express awaits contract decision amid poor service record

Customers say lives upended by ripped up schedules and woeful performance

Once, it seemed like a good idea to live in the Pennines and commute by train. Susannah Simmons, a violinist at Opera North, moved to Marsden for quick and easy access to her work in Leeds and Manchester. The service was far from perfect but satisfactory," she says. But for at least the past year nearly all trains I would have used have been cancelled or delayed, forcing me to drive everywhere."

Like countless others, her life has been upended by ripped up schedules and woeful performance of TransPennine Express.