Industrial Action

TransPennine Express operates very limited services on days affected by strike action. Anyone planning on travelling on these days should only do so if their journey is absolutely essential. If you do travel, expect severe disruption and plan ahead.

When possible, customers should avoid travelling the day after a strike as a reduced timetable may also be in effect on these days. Services on these days may start later so morning journeys will be affected as a result of this.

Anyone intending to use our trains during industrial action should check their entire journey carefully before travelling as services may be subject to short notice cancellations. Our services will start later and end much earlier so it's important to check the times of our first and last train services.

Customers should also allow extra time for journeys as any services we do operate will be extremely busy. As a result, bikes will not be permitted onboard TransPennine Express services during strike action. We are also unable to declassify first class when services are busy.

Rail replacement bus services may not run on days affected by strike action. Please check our planned engineering works page for more information.

If you are delayed for 15 minutes or more, you are entitled to Delay Repay compensation which you can see more about here.

We will operate as many of our services as possible. Your ticket may be valid on other services if you are unable to travel or choose not to travel on a strike day: find out where tickets are valid in the 'When can my strike day ticket be used?' tab.

Alternatively, if you choose not to travel at all, you will be entitled to a full refund or for the portion of your journey that has been affected. To claim your refund, you will need to return the ticket to where it was purchased. TransPennine Express will not charge an administration fee for this.

If the train that you were intending to travel on is cancelled or you are unable to complete your journey, then you can apply for a refund or change your journey free of charge. You can also change your journey if your train has been delayed or re-scheduled since the timetable was published. Refunds in these circumstances will not be subject to an admin fee and you are asked to submit your refund within 28 days of your intended date of travel.

If, after you have bought your ticket, your train is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled you may change the date/time of your journey free of charge.

If you have a monthly or longer season ticket and choose not to travel, you can claim 100% Delay Repay for the affected dates as specified on this page (you must select “abandoned journey” as reason for delay). If you have a Flexi Season ticket and have activated a pass for travel on the affected dates as specified on this page, then you can claim 100% compensation for these days via Delay Repay (you must select “abandoned journey” as reason for delay). Weekly season ticket holders can get a refund on the portion of season ticket not used, as per the standard refund policy.

We have withdrawn Advance Purchase tickets from sale on the days of strike action – other fares are still available.

Information on refunds and how to apply is available here.

If you experience a delay while travelling, you may be entitled to compensation which you can find further information about here.

Ticket acceptance 

If you have an ‘Advance’ ticket, please travel as close as possible to the original day and time of travel as possible.

Please note there is no validity extension for the return portion of period returns as these are already open for one calendar month and are very flexible. If you are unable to use the return portion of your ticket, please contact us and we will arrange a refund of 50% of the ticket cost.

Tickets will not be valid on London Underground services.

Yes. If you choose not to use your ticket due to a strike you will be entitled to a full refund.

If you have a return ticket and you do not or cannot travel because one leg of your journey is affected by strike action, you can apply for a full refund for both outward and inbound journeys.

To process a refund, return your unused tickets to where they were purchased. If you purchased your ticket directly with TransPennine Express, you can apply for a refund here. 

You will not be charged an admin fee to refund tickets during the strike period.

Customers with Advance tickets

If you have an Advance ticket for a train that is scheduled for a strike day, you can get a fee-free refund or change of journey. Your ticket should be submitted for refund within 28 days of expiry. If you purchased your ticket(s) through another train operator or retailer refunds should be claimed through the retailer you purchased your ticket from. Compensation should be claimed through the train operator you travelled with where the delay occurred.

Customers with other ‘walk-up’ single or return tickets

If you purchased your ticket with us and you apply for a refund before the first date of days affected by strike action, no admin fees will be charged.

Throughout any industrial action, our station teams will continue to carry out passenger assistance onto train services we are able to provide.

Our contact centre will be contacting any customers with booked assistance who will be impacted by strike action and will support customers with altering or cancelling journeys where appropriate.

If you have any questions about passenger assistance for your journey, the team can be contacted on 0800 107 2149 or text phone 18001 0800 107 2149.

If you decide not to travel, you can also cancel your assistance booking using the passenger assistance app or by messaging us on WhatsApp on 07812 223 336. For other ways to contact us, please see here.

You can travel by train on days affected by action short of a strike, however some services will be subject to short notice cancellations or amendments.

We recommend you checking your journey before you travel, (up until the time of departure) using Journey Checker.

If your train is cancelled, you may use your ticket on alternative TransPennine Express services.

Alternatively, you are entitled to a full fee-free refund from your original retailer. To claim your refund, you will need to return the ticket to where it was purchased. .

Information on refunds and how to apply is available here.

If your train is not cancelled, then the normal Terms and Conditions of your ticket apply.

If your train is delayed, you may apply for Delay Repay.

If your train is not cancelled, then the normal Terms and Conditions of your ticket apply.

If your train is cancelled, then you may use your ticket on alternative TransPennine Express services. Alternatively, you are entitled to a full fee-free refund from your original retailer.

To claim your refund, you will need to return the ticket to where it was purchased. Information on refunds and how to apply is available here.

You can still book passenger assistance during any period which is affected by industrial action.

You can find out more about how to book passenger assistance here.

If you have any questions about passenger assistance for your journey, the team can be contacted on 0800 107 2149 or by text phone 18001 0800 107 2149.