Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with TransPennine Express on its recent operational performance.

The Department, which manages TransPennine Express’s contract in partnership with Transport for the North through the Rail North Partnership, is in regular dialogue with the operator to stabilise the current service provision (which has been affected by high levels of absence, a lack of rest day working and overtime, and industrial action) and then return services to a fuller and reliable timetable.