Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the operator of last resort running the Transpennine Route will improve service reliability.

The Department’s Rail North Partnership with Transport for the North will provide its full support as TPE transitions across to the operator of last resort and in working to address the performance issues which have affected passengers. However, making these improvements will also require support from the rail unions. There is a fair and reasonable pay offer from industry on the table in exchange for much needed workforce reform and we urge striking unions to accept this and allow their members to have a say and to start putting passengers first. A similar offer was accepted at Network Rail, bringing an end to the industrial relations dispute.