TransPennine Express changes

While I'm not surprised......I need to take that line on 1 Jun. That's only three days after TPE stops its operations. Should I book with alternate train companies or hope the government or new operator can actually run it decently in the short term?

I realize no one really knows but I'd like to hear your opinion.

I'm going from Manchester to Dundee. I could take Northern Line from Manchester to Preston, Avanti West Coast to Glasgow, Scotrail to Dundee

or

Fly from Manchester to Aberdeen then Scotrail to Dundee.

Stick with what you have Frank. Whilst there will be change on 1st June as far as the service is concerned there should be no discernible difference. It's the same people operating the trains as on 31st May. Of course there is still a chance that your train could be cancelled as that's the whole reason for the change, but in truth I've found it a bit better in the last couple of months and the trains from MAN up to Glasgow and Edinburgh seem to be running fairly well. If on the day your train is cancelled you can always revert to Plan B at no cost.

Nothing will change in the short term on the basic issue of driver shortages, the trains will still run (or not) and existing bookings honoured.

I was due to travel TPE on Saturday, and was just happier at getting a through ticket to Manchester than a Preston change (at a stupidly cheap price), and likely more room than on Avanti. As it is I am now on Avanti due to the strike.
But oddly TPE are running buses from Edinburgh to Carlisle on a strike day, when Avanti are running nothing from Glasgow- bus or train.
I knew that if there was a cancellation I would have had ticket acceptance of my advance ticket on the next Avanti train anyway.

Northern are worse than TPE at the moment- twice in a week I have had a northern train from Manchester just vanish from the timetable- not cancelled, just removed. The latest case was this Tuesday- and I have locked horns with Northern on a delay repay case for last week. That is happening on Northern frequently and all over the network currently.

Depending on when you got to Preston it could be Avanti either to Glasgow or Haymarket/Edinburgh.
1 June is the day after a strike and Northern are already warning of continuing disruption that day.

I would just take the easy route and fly to ABZ, then train back to Dundee.

PS- On Tuesday I was travelling from Penrith to Workington, and had to decide on train via Lancaster or bus- exactly the same price.
I decided on train (having checked everything was running) and it was while I was on the TPE on time train from Penrith to Lancaster that the connecting train from Lancaster (started from Manchester Airport) just vanished, half an hour after it had allegedly left the airport, and I had tracked it doing so) so I ended up with a 75 minute delay, and wishing I had taken the bus.
Then later on that evening the last northern train from Barrow to Carlisle was suddenly cancelled unexpectedly north of Whitehaven- with no bus replacement laid on.
Next Monday when I come down on the last train from Inverness I hope I don't get the last northern train from Carlisle 'vanished' with no relief road transport, or there will be a huge row if I get stuck.

It's the same people operating the trains as on 31st May.

That's what worries me. My last two planned trips from Manchester to Edinburgh on TPE were cancelled. One was canceled two minutes before departure. And between the proximity to a strike date, and the changeover in operations, flying does seem to be a better choice.

same trains, same traincrew, same managers, same track, new people in charge.

Stick with what you have.

So now the roll of trains operated by the government are LNER, Northern, TPE....

who's next?

Southeastern as well Nigel?

24% of train journeys will now apparently be Government run after the TPE takeover on 28 May.