First TransPennine Express was a British

train operating company A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993. T ...

jointly owned by

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Keolis Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services. ...

which operated the

TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...

franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major cities of

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...

as well as

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The franchise operated all its services to and through

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

covering three main routes. The service provided rail links for major towns and cities such as

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, Scarborough,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

and Newcastle. Previously, all services called or terminated at

Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

, but, as of May 2014, a new service running between Newcastle and

Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...

, calling at

Manchester Victoria Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was co ...

was announced, and launched as part of the Northern Hub plan. When the franchise was re-tendered, FirstGroup and Keolis tendered separately. The franchise was awarded solely to FirstGroup, trading as

History

The TransPennine Express brand was launched in the early 1990s by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

, and maintained by the privatised operator Northern Spirit and its successor,

Arriva Trains Northern Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. Arriva resumed operating Northern train services again on 1 April 201 ...

. In 2000, the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. I ...

announced that it planned to reorganise the North West Regional Railways and Regional Railways North East franchises operated by

First North Western First North Western was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the North West Regional Railways franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. History In the lead up to the privatisation of British Rail, the Nor ...

and

. A TransPennine Express franchise would be created for the long-distance regional services, the remaining services being operated by a new Northern franchise. In July 2003, the TransPennine Express franchise was awarded to a joint venture between

, and the services operated by Arriva Trains Northern and First North Western were transferred to First TransPennine Express on 1 February 2004. The franchise was due to end on 31 January 2012, but in August 2011 the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...

awarded First TransPennine Express an extension until March 2015. Included was a clause to allow the date to be brought forward to April 2014 to coincide with the end-date of the Northern Rail franchise. In March 2013 the

Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is ...

announced the franchise would again be extended until 1 April 2016. The continuation of the franchise was not certain. Local transport authorities and consultancies proposed merging Trans-Pennine services into other franchises to increase efficiency on the rail network. The

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those ...

to Scotland service could be transferred to the

InterCity West Coast InterCity West Coast (ICWC) was a 1997–2019 Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (and branches thereof), between Euston railway station, London E ...

franchise after the electrification of lines around Manchester by 2018. The south Trans-Pennine route between

and

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...

could be transferred to

East Midlands Trains East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019. Following the Department for Transport (DfT) award of ...

who operate an hourly service on the Manchester to

section. In June 2014 the DfT confirmed two separate franchises in the north of England, one providing intercity rail services and a second providing local rail services. At the time proposals were made to transfer services including

to Scarborough and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

services to the Northern franchise and transfer the

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

portion of the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

service operated by

to the TransPennine franchise. In August 2014, the Department for Transport announced

/ Go-Ahead and

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

had been shortlisted to bid for the next franchise. On 9 December 2015, FirstGroup was awarded the franchise in its own right with

taking over on 1 April 2016.

Services

North TransPennine

As a result of timetable changes in May 2014, five trains per hour instead of four operated on the core route between

and

on the Huddersfield Line. This was made up of the following services: *1tph between and Newcastle via *1tph between Liverpool Lime Street and via Warrington Central and

*1tph between and via Manchester Piccadilly. This was also a 24-hour service. *1tph between Manchester Airport and Middlesbrough via Manchester Piccadilly *1tph between Manchester Piccadilly and

. Most services between Manchester Airport and Newcastle ran early morning/late evenings. Under

, Newcastle services continued to . When First TransPennine Express first took over the franchise it extended the Manchester to Hull service to , a decision later reversed. In May 2014 an hourly service between Liverpool Lime Street and Newcastle Central was introduced. It ran non-stop between Liverpool and Manchester Victoria and onward to Newcastle via Leeds reducing journey times between Liverpool and Manchester by 15 minutes and Liverpool to Leeds by 25 minutes.

South TransPennine

Manchester Piccadilly station MMB 51 170303

An hourly service operated from Manchester Airport to via Manchester Piccadilly, , , and .

TransPennine North West

TransPennine North West used sections of the Styal Line, Manchester to Preston Line,

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

Furness Line The Furness line is a British railway between and , joining the West Coast Main Line at . A predominantly passenger line, it serves various towns along the Furness coast, including Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston and Grange-over-Sands. It runs th ...

and Windermere Branch Line. These services were formerly operated by

with the exception of the Scottish routes, which were previously operated by

Virgin CrossCountry Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in t ...

from

. Following timetable changes in May 2014 the following services operated: *1tph between Manchester Airport and Blackpool North. Some services also ran to/from and which are detached/attached at Preston. A number of peak services start or terminate at Preston. *1tph between Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central or Edinburgh Waverley (alternating). Most of these services used Class 350s (some Edinburgh services run in 8 car formations) however a number of peak services are still run by Class 185s via Bolton/Wigan North Western and Bolton/Chorley. With the completion of the first stage of the North West electrification programme, the Scottish services were operated from 8 December 2013 by newly arrived Class 350 electric units and rerouted to stop at Wigan North Western after joining the West Coast Main Line close to Newton-le-Willows. Most stops at Bolton and Chorley were withdrawn as a result. With a number of peak services still operating via Bolton/Chorley or Bolton/Wigan North Western.

Performance

Official performance figures released by Network Rail for period 7 of the financial year 2013/14 were down on the same period last year at 87.8% ( PPM) and MAA up to 12 October 2013 stood at 90.5%.

Rolling stock

First TransPennine Express inherited a fleet of two- and three-car Class 158 ''Express Sprinter'' trains from

. It also operated Class 175 ''Coradias'' on hire from

Arriva Trains Wales Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...

. A franchise commitment was the replacement of the entire fleet, so in 2005 First TransPennine Express ordered 56 (later cut back by the

to 51) three-car Class 185 ''Desiros'', the first of which entered service in March 2006. Most of the Class 185s were delivered in

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Class 185 trains proved popular with off-peak travellers, although these satisfaction levels decreased for passengers undertaking long-distance journeys and at peak times. Despite the 185s having a higher capacity than two-car 158s, 185s frequently left passengers behind due to severe overcrowding at peak times.

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilitie ...

stated in 2007 that projected passenger numbers would probably mean that 8-car units would be needed by 2014. 185103 at Castleton East Junction

It was planned to operate all services with the new Class 185 ''Desiros''. However, weight restrictions on the Micklefield to Hull line restricted the Class 185s to . To solve this and create extra capacity, First TransPennine Express leased eight Class 170 ''Turbostars'' from late 2006 that were surplus to South West Trains' requirements, and in November 2007 a ninth was transferred from

Central Trains Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007. Overview Created out of the Central division o ...

. The Class 185 ''Desiros'' operated across the network, the Class 170 ''Turbostars'' on services from Manchester to Cleethorpes, Hull and York. Since May 2014 services between Manchester and Scotland were operated by the Class 350/4s

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

s. This enabled the diesel trains in use on the Manchester to Scotland services to be transferred to other TransPennine Express services. The Manchester Airport to Blackpool route was also electrified, allowing further diesel trains to be cascaded on to other TransPennine Express services. However, this was after the end of the former TransPennine Express franchise. In February 2012 the

announced that 10 four-car electric Class 350 ''Desiros'' had been ordered to operate services from Manchester to Scotland via Wigan after electrification. It was confirmed that all the existing rolling stock would remain with the franchise to boost capacity. However, in March 2014 it was announced that the nine Class 170 ''Turbostars'' would move to

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Rail ...

. MP Stephen Hammond revealed on 12 March 2014 that all the class 170/3s would remain with First TransPennine Express until the May 2015 timetable change. In January 2015 it was confirmed Chiltern would take five of the Class 170s from May 2015 and the other four from February 2016. First TransPennine hired Class 156 ''Super Sprinters'' (which were originally intended to be used for extra capacity on Northern Rail services) from Northern Rail to work in pairs on the Manchester Airport-Blackpool North route, ahead of that route's transfer (along with the services to Barrow-in-Furness and Windermere) to the new Northern franchise in April 2016.

Fleet at end of franchise

Managed stations

First TransPennine Express managed the following 30 stations, many of which transferred to the new

franchise operator:

References

External links

* * , - {{Authority control Defunct train operating companies FirstGroup railway companies Keolis Railway companies established in 2004 Railway companies disestablished in 2016 2004 establishments in England 2016 disestablishments in England