The massively criticised UK passenger operator TransPennine Express has been sacked from its franchise. Passengers using the service, which connects Liverpool and Manchester with Glasgow and Edinburgh, have become disillusioned and furious at overcrowded and absent trains. TPE, which provided many other Anglo-Scottish and north of England routes, has been vilified for hiding huge numbers of cancelled services behind an administrative loophole. The service will now be taken over by the UK government’s operator of last resort, and will be administered by the Department for Transport.