TransPennine Express Reviews 1.241

A lovely relaxing journey from Preston to Liverpool. Train was punctual departing and arrived in Liverpool on time..
I was in 1st class which can be very hit and miss with transpennine. Usually more miss than hit.
But on this occasion it was a hit.
The member of staff looking after us was lovely. Friendly and attentive.

Sadly on website they have removed the option to choose and change your reserved seat . It’s now allocated after payment. Some of us need extra legroom or a table so it’s a downgrade .

Used to be the best railway company a few years ago. Now its literally a shadow of itself. Trains never run on-time, with endless excuses as to why there is a delay aswell. Also delay repay is a CON as they only offer the smallest amount of money back for the delayed service. Apparently a 60-120 minute wait only deserves a 25% refund. I'm guessing this being as they already know they plan on delaying services for atleast 15+ minutes, everyday. It is also near impossible to find the contact number for customer service, once again, probably due to them knowing they have delayed trains and dont have staff willing to deal with complaints or other customer service issues

My train was delayed on March 23rd the 12 34 from Grimsby to Manchester Piccadilly. I was told to claim for the delay . This is an absolutely impossible task, I have tried to navigate their on-line compensation system over and over by resetting my password again and again, registering over and over, told already registered ,Then told verification code is wrong when In fact it’s correct,
Phoning them and following their instructions while they are on the phone (over one hour )with me even that did not work ,I was transferred followed more instructions still no joy. Their phone system seems to be in need of repair when you are asked to choose your option that is hit and miss you don't always get transferred it just ask again an again without transferring you to the option you choose .
I think it’s their way of not paying compensation. This company is not fit for purpose I have given up !

Fantastic customer service from Fiyaz at Manchester Piccadilly today. He advised that my elderly aunt and her friend could take an earlier train to prevent them having to wait at the station after a lengthy hospital visit. He stayed with them until the train was ready to board and escorted them to their seats! He made the end of a very stressful day much easier, An absolute credit to the Trans Pennine team! Thank you, Fiyaz!

Travelled with TransPennine Express in March and paid the extra for first class. Never again. There was no breakfast available so we had a tex mex burger off the lunch menu, it was that tough we couldn’t even bite through the burger. The server said we couldn’t have something else, my wife had a cheese board and I asked for the same but they only had one so it was a biscuit for me. How they didn’t have more cheese boards I was amazed as there were only 6 people in first class and 2 didn’t eat anything. We had 3 red wines between us as they ran out of red!
Coming back a few days later we had the pie and the hog roast again the pie was I think made of concrete as you could not cut the sides, the hog roast was disgusting and left after the first bite.
We also had to be coached from York to Durham on the outgoing leg which we had not been informed of until we got on the train.
Do not travel first class with this company and ensure you take your own food and drinks.
We complained in writing case TPE-CR-3242933 on our return and we only got a response today. The response was SORRY no refund no discount just SORRY. Disgraceful

I got a coffee on the 12:52 train from Liverpool Lime Street to Darlington, it was vile, I literally did not know weather to drink it or take it home to paint the fence, shocking for the price you pay.

First Class 0931, Morpeth to Edinburgh, Overall OK, carriage clean, nice touch of water waiting for us on boarding. Tables clean. The offer of snacks was poor, no offer of hot snacks.
Could not fault staff/steward in carriage only offering what he was allowed to.

Absolutely appalling customer service. After receiving very poor customer service in a first class carriage I provided feedback and eventually after a number of months my feedback was acknowledged. They asked for copies of my ticket and details of what I had to eat and drink (not sure why but it soon became apparent they make everything complicated). Eventually they offered £5 compensation which I immediately asked them to give it to charity but they told me I needed to claim it through their payment system as they couldn’t give it to charity. After another few weeks I was finally given instructions how to claim the £5 but shockingly I was required to give FULL access to my bank accounts. I refused and as such gave up my £5 and the charity missed out.
Trans Pennine Express are just simple Grifters that make it as complicated as possible to get any compensation offered. They clearly don’t care less about customers and should be avoided.

Online reservations used to be so easy to navigate but not since the website changed. It is so frustrating having to switch from grid to list and trying to ignore that the cheapest journey has already been selected. I want to be in control of my reservation instead of having to attempt 4 or 5 times. Seat reservations can easily be missed then when try to book a seat, 'told' there are no seat reservations. Dreadful mistake of TPE to have changed what was straightforward before.

The staff are skivers and vandals. They never fix broken toilets. Awful staff. They can not provide the service they need to provide

My train experience with Transpenine has always been a nightmare. They take people’s money and then tell you they cancel, I left my house this morning since 7am…. A 20-25 minute journey to Warrington got me to work half 9 it’s unacceptable, they do this all the time if this is not the fifth time I’d experience thia
Get a Business Analyst y’all

tv adverts - have a family day out. we did over 2 days. cancelled train outward and broken down train on line causing delays on our return causing us to fail to meet our connection. pretty poor really. tried to claim my money back through a convoluted website which makes it difficult to claim my money back AVOID this service if you can

Don’t rely on the trains. Don’t rely on the trains to be on time. When they aren’t on time, don’t rely on getting the promised delay compensation. Don’t rely on buying a ticket to a destination and that destination not getting cancelled without even an announcement on the tannoy. They really are infuriatingly difficult to get in contact with and get your money back from.
If they weren’t the only train company that operates in my area I wouldn’t use them. I’m furious, and not for the first time with them trying to get a refund from their tight, money grabbing fingers.

Shameful.

Went to Liverpool for my birthday, we upgraded to first class,
Shelly who looked after us was lovely and never stopped, she’s a credit to this company.
When she found out it was my birthday she treated me to a birthday card and a bottle of Prosecco,
All the staff on board were lovely and can’t wait to travel again 5th April

Transpennine is honestly the worst train service I have come across. Out of 6 return tickets bought only 1 of them was not cancelled. I've ended up getting northern trains as replacement. Absolutely no point booking with Transpennine, northern might be slightly slower but atleast it actually runs.

I traveled on the 20th & the 23rd March in first class on each occasion on both trains were on time, and staffed by friendly professional crew. The trains were clean, and the complimentary food drinks and snacks provided were plentiful and tasty served by a friendly host. Looking forward to my next trip.

The journey was very comfortable and the ticket collector was very courteous and the Drinks and Food Trolley was fully stocked.
However on the return journey there were no hot drinks available and people were sitting in reservedd seats eventually did move but there was no member of staff challenged these people.staff

The train was on time both directions. Sitting in 1st class with good service, and food provided as well as drinks.

Train departed on time
Manchester Victoria Monday morning 23/03/2026 8am
Arrived on time Newcastle 10.24 am
Staff were helpful friendly
And made you feel welcome