Monday 13 February 2022

RAIL COMPANY TransPennine Express should lose its franchise – that’s the view of cross-Party MPs across the region, who’ve contacted Transport Secretary Mark Harper. Hull’s Diana Johnson, Emma Hardy and Karl Turner, Goole’s Andrew Percy and Lincolnshire MPs Martin Vickers, Holly Mumby-Croft and Lia Nici jointly wrote they had all spent too many hours waiting for TransPennine Services and accused the company of mismanagement and making excuses to explain away delays and cancellations. 

Passengers travelling out of Hull to Leeds, Manchester and elsewhere have been plagued by delays and last minute cancellations for months. A rail company spokesperson said the company knew the service offered to customers was unacceptable and was working to fix the underlying causes.

These were said to be ongoing high levels of sickness and an unprecedented training backlog following the pandemic, coupled with increased training demands to support major route and timetable upgrades, together with the withdrawal from overtime working by drivers.

THE COMPANY behind controversial plans to build an asphalt plant close to Brandesburton, rejected by East Riding planners last year, has now submitted a new application to build the plant on another site. Newlay Asphalt Ltd want to site the plant on land south of Catfoss Pig Farm in Catfoss Lane, Brandesburton.

Residents who successfully campaigned again the original proposal to build on land on the former RAF Catfoss site, are already gearing up to fight the new application. Brandesburton resident Jackie Suthenwood said: “Moving the proposed location for this development a mere half mile further down the road does nothing to change the nature of the development nor the reasons for the previous rejection.”

The planning application can be viewed here