Transpennine Express35 reviews
This score is based on 35 genuine reviews submitted via BritainReviews since 2019.
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Find companies you have experience with and write reviews about them! Your reviews contribute to a more transparent market and improve the reliability of companies.Train ticket purchase
My experience with the train service was absolutely shocking. My son accidentally bought a ticket for the wrong date, a simple mistake that he tried to fix when he was told by the staff. Instead of helping him, they publicly embarrassed him, treated him like a criminal, and made him feel terrible. The train itself was late and not moving, which gave the staff member even more time to be rude and aggressive. My son was so upset that he ended up in tears and had to pay a big fine for an honest mistake. It's really unfair that he was singled out when there were other passengers breaking the rules in more obvious ways. The inconsistency and unfair treatment of passengers is really appalling and not acceptable.
Train ticket refund
I'm really let down by this train company's service. I bought a ticket but then had to ask for a refund because of something unexpected. Trying to get my money back has been a total nightmare. The customer service staff are useless, lazy, and just no good at their job. Even though I've sent in clear photos of my ticket multiple times, they keep saying they're not good enough or missing. It's a total con - they make all these promises about refunds, but they never actually follow through.
Train journey disaster
Me and my mates were on this train heading out for a day trip, and then all of a sudden, it just stopped halfway through the journey! We had to come up with a different way to get to our destination. Can you believe it? And to top it off, when I asked for a refund, they flat out said no!
Travel experience
I had a pretty rubbish travel experience recently because they didn't seem to care at all about customers with allergies.
Train ticket
The train was always full of miserable workers who always lie about when they'll arrive to avoid giving refunds for late trains. I'm never getting on that train again, the service was just terrible.
First class ticket for travel to Birchwood
As a customer who bought a first-class ticket to Birchwood, I was really let down by the whole experience. I thought I'd be getting a more comfy and exclusive ride, but the carriages were grubby and packed with people who had standard tickets. And having no conductor checking on things just made it worse, turning a chaotic and miserable journey.
Journey experience
I've had a few bad experiences with the train services lately, and my most recent trip got cancelled again. It's been a real problem for me as it's happened four times now, going to and from Manchester. I'm not happy at all with the lack of reliability and how they don't seem to care about keeping customers happy. When I compare this to other train companies like Avanti, it's clear they're much better at providing quality service and looking after customers. Even if that means changing trains at Preston with Avanti, I'd rather do that to make sure I get to where I need to be on time. All these ongoing problems with the service from this provider make me wonder why they're still operating with such a disappointing "service".
My journey on the train
So, listen, I caught the train the other day, and oh my goodness, it was a complete disaster! Like, do the people in charge even have a clue what they're doing? They decided to have fewer carriages during the busiest times, and didn't even bother to check if passengers had reservations for seats that weren't even there anymore. I mean, seriously! And don't even get me started on the southern route, it always seems to get the short end of the stick. And those seats, ah, so uncomfortable! The only positive was that the tickets were cheap, but I guess they had to be considering the chaos. And apparently, they lost their franchise, which honestly, comes as no surprise at all. If you have a smooth journey, it's more luck than anything else. Definitely not the best situation, you know?
First class train ticket to Edinburgh
I hopped on a fancy train to Scotland, thinking I'd enjoy a lovely lunch on my return journey. However, they were still serving breakfast, so I had to wait for ages only to receive a cold bacon roll. Can you believe they even ran out of them? They suggested reheating it in the microwave, but I definitely said no. That's just disgusting, isn't it? I mentioned it to the train staff, but their response was, "Well, it's complimentary, so tough luck." Honestly, you can't even voice your displeasure about poor food in first class!
Train ticket purchase
I bought a train ticket from this company, but the train got cancelled. They said they'd give me a refund, I gave them my details, but it's been 24 days and still no money back. I got in touch with them, and they said they'd paid someone else, not me. It's been really annoying and disappointing as a customer, and I'm still waiting for the refund that should be mine.
Train ride
So, you know, I've been on this train loads of times and it's been pretty rubbish, but recently it's been improving! They're actually running on time and everything, which is great. And once, the train driver was really nice and let my little brother come into the driver's part - he was over the moon!
Train journey booking
I just booked a train journey but it got cancelled at the last minute, and I only got a small refund through the third-party booking system. I was pretty let down by the poor reliability and service quality, especially when I think about how efficient trains are in other countries. Living in Japan has really spoiled me with their punctuality and cleanliness, which wasn't matched in this situation.
travelling
Transpennine express does not care about passengers. It's the most execrable train service I have never experienced. I have travelled with Northern, Avanti west coast and other in the south, they all made an effort to be reliable.
Transpennine express excels in the art to ruin your trip/holidays. For sure in the future I will avoid travelling with tpe even if they give free travelling tickets.Return train from Manchester to Edinburgh
Have had to give two stars as there is no possibility to select one but definitely one star (really no stars). Always overcrowded, always standing despite buying seats. Currently standing on a severely overcrowded train from Edinburgh to Manchester. I booked a seat intentionally because I had surgery five days ago and knew I wouldn’t be able to stand for over three hours (especially on an overcrowded train). They changed a planned 8 carriage train into a 4 carriage train so my seat didn’t exist. No help AT ALL from the conductor. I went and stood in 1st class as that was the only part of the train you could even stand in. I was told to move (not sure where I was supposed to go as there really wasn’t anywhere else to go and moving at all involved climbing over heaps of people). I agreed to move if they agreed to bring me to my allocated seat so they really had no option but to finally leave me alone and I am still standing. The thing is, the last time I travelled between Manchester and Edinburgh the exact same thing happened but nothing ways!!! I paid £85.30 to stand on a crowded train!!!
Makes things easy as to book tickets before the trip
Booking from Transpennine Express is easy, fast and most of the time, cost-efficient as well.Its the best option to buy railway tickets which are highly conivienet for some particular routes.
You can book according to the various prefrences, routes and more.
About Transpennine Express
TransPennine Express is a British train operating company that provides intercity rail services between major cities across the North of England and into Scotland. Established in 1998, the company operates as part of the TransPennine Express rail franchise and is currently managed by FirstGroup. Serving key urban centres such as Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool, as well as extending to destinations including Edinburgh and Glasgow, TransPennine Express plays a crucial role in the regional transport infrastructure. The company is committed to delivering efficient, reliable, and high-quality rail services to its passengers.
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Contact Information
Bridgewater House, 60 Whitworth Street
M1 6LT Manchester
United Kingdom
📧 tpecustomer.relations@tpexpress.co.uk
Categories Transpennine Express
Services | Other Services Reviews & Experiences
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Last update: December 2025
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Review with most votes
Makes things easy as to book t
Booking from Transpennine Express is easy, fast and most of the time, cost-efficient as well.Its the best option to buy railway tickets which are highly conivienet for some par... Read onBy: Mauli Norris