help

Many of our services, particularly at peak times, can be very busy and we appreciate this isn't an ideal travelling experience.

As part of our franchise agreement we are required to offer First Class accommodation. This is available in Coach A and also in Coach D on four / six carriage trains and is for the use of First Class ticket holders only. The First Class accommodation is clearly identifiable on the entrance doors to the compartment and on seat headrest covers. 

Occasionally, when demand is high and all First Class ticket holders have been accommodated, the on board team may decide to offer available seating to standard class ticket holders.

First TransPennine Express will not be de-classifying services as a matter of course.
We appreciate that on certain routes and at certain times it has become the norm for some customers to assume that a train will be de-classified and as such make use
of the First Class accommodation.

We would like to ask standard class ticket holders to no longer make an assumption that services will be de-classified and therefore not use the First Class accommodation.
We do recognise this is a change to previous travel experiences but we believe this is a better
way of managing capacity throughout the train.

Our on board teams have been briefed regarding this and we would ask all customers to respect the decisions they make.
They have an absolute right to work in a safe and non-threatening environment. 

Maintenance and essential safety upgrading work is unavoidable on a railway system as old and extensive as the UK's. This usually means that lines have to be closed for the work to take place. Network Rail, the company responsible for this work, tries to ensure that as few people as possible are inconvenienced when a line has to be closed. So most of this work takes place at night or at weekends, when there are usually fewer travellers. Sometimes the affected train services can be diverted onto another route. Where this is not possible a replacement bus service is provided. Journeys by rail replacement bus usually take longer than the train they are replacing as the route they take is not as direct. We publish a dedicated webpage, planned changes to train times , that lists engineering works on our route. We also recommend that customers check their journey on the National Rail Enquiries website or call them on 08457 484950

The Web Sales Support Team can be contacted at TPE Web Support, Floor 1, Intercity House, North Road, Plymouth, PL4 6AB or telephone at on 0844 556 5637. You can also email us direct at tpe.websupport@firstgroup.com.

For season tickets , please call 0870 024 0463. This service is provided for First TransPennine Express by a contracted company, so will only be able to deal with online ticket sales. If you have made a booking online please quote your reference number when you contact the Web Sales Support Team. If you are still having problems and wish to use another format to purchase your tickets, please contact our Telesales team on 0845 678 6974 who will be happy to assist with your booking.

We provide free assistance to customers. You can telephone our Assisted Travel Team on 0800 107 2149 every day between 0700 and 2200. They can help you book tickets and seat reservations and make sure the assistance you need at the stations is available. It's best to phone at least 24 hours before you travel. For more details visit our Assisted Travel webpage .

Most people who travel on trains buy a ticket. Unfortunately some do not and this costs many millions of pounds in lost revenue every year - revenue that should be available to finance improvements to services and stations. Ticket inspections on trains and at stations help to prevent this. It can sometimes be inconvenient but it is preferable to losing that revenue and not being able to invest back into the level of service we provide.

Customers wishing to enquire about lost property should call 0845 600 1672. It will help if you can tell us the station at which your train terminated. Items not collected within 24 hours will be transferred to a central location. Please note there may be a charge for retrieval of items held for more than 24 hours.

Most of our trains have a dedicated area for carrying two bicycles. These are carried free of charge and space can be booked in advance by calling our reservations team on 0845 600 1674. They can confirm how many spaces are available. If you are unsure when you will be travelling, you can take your bike with you without booking in advance, but space will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. For more information visit our Cycle Policy or download a copy of our cycle policy

Our Customer Relations Team is happy to pass on your thanks. All you need to do is send all the details to First TransPennine Express, Customer Relations, ADMAIL 3878, FREEPOST, Manchester, M1 9YB or telephone us on 0845 600 1671. You can also fax us on 0845 600 8363 or email us direct at tpecustomer.relations@firstgroup.com

If you need to abandon your journey because of disruption to services, you can claim a full refund on your unused ticket by returning it to the issuing office. If you purchased your ticket via our Telesales Department, contact 08456 786 974; if you purchased via our website, contact our Website Support Team on 0844 556 5637; if you purchased from a Station Booking Office, take the tickets back to that Booking Office.

If your group has ten or more people then you may be eligible for a discount. Due to the complexities of group travel we are unable to offer group bookings through our website. Please contact our Group Travel Department on 0845 600 1674.

As part of our franchise commitment we promised we would provide catering services on our core routes (Manchester Piccadilly - York, Manchester Piccadilly - Doncaster, Manchester Piccadilly - Preston) Monday to Friday between 0700 - 1900hrs and all our Scottish services (Manchester Piccadilly - Glasgow, Manchester Piccadilly - Edinburgh) between 0700 - 1900hrs. For more detailed catering information, please check our timetables for the route you are travelling.

We now accept credit cards for our onboard catering services.

Please contact the correct team below and we'll be happy to help.

Web Ticket Sales Support, 0844 556 5637 or visit our live web sales support chat
Train running information, 0845 748 4950 (National Rail Enquiries)
Bike reservation, 0845 600 1674
Group travel, 0845 600 1674
Lost property, 0845 600 1672
Assisted travel (wheelchair & Accessibility bookings), 0800 107 2149
Minicom facility (For hearing-impaired passengers), 0800 107 2061
Other enquiry, 0845 600 1671

Our customer relations team can only assist between 0700 and 2200 Monday to Friday and 0700 and 2100 on Saturday and Sunday.

Please visit my account webpage.

We list detailed station information for stations on our network on our destinations webpages. For example, Manchester Airport can be found here, Leeds can be found here.  For stations not on our network please visit National Rail

Commercial poster space at FTPE stations, where available, can be bought through CBS (www.cbsoutdoor.co.uk).  The contact is Craig Bailey, National Franchise Manager, on 0121 779 1932 (craig.bailey@cbsoutdoor.co.uk).

Parking is available at stations managed by First TransPennine Express. For more information on parking availability and to pay for online visit apcoa parking.

We get loads of questions about trains being too full and not long enough. It is definitely a fair question and we certainly recognise that some of our services, particularly in the morning and evening can be very busy. We've invested £60 million in a fleet of brand new trains that will start to come in service by the end of 2013. You can find out more about the new trains by visiting our new trains page.