Extra TransPennine Express rail services for the COP26 Summit

Train operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has announced additional weekend services on its Anglo-Scottish route - which stops at Preston and Lancaster - to help get attendees to and from the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will take place at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow between October 31 and November 12, with many of those attending expecting to use environmentally friendly travel choices, including rail.

Weekend train services are expected to be busier than usual with people travelling to and from the summit and TPE will be running additional services on the Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays over the three weekends of the COP26 summit, operating between Friday, October 29, to Monday, November 15.

The additional services are:

7.10am Manchester Airport to Glasgow Central (9.10am on Sundays)

7.08pm Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport

All of these services will call at Lockerbie and Motherwell in Scotland as well as Carlisle, Penrith, Lancaster, Preston, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Piccadilly in England.

Customers using these services are reminded that a face covering must be worn on board train services and at stations in Scotland, unless exempt, and are encouraged to be worn on all journeys throughout.

TransPennine Express managing director Matthew Golton said: “We are delighted to announce these extra services for those looking at taking the train to visit Glasgow while the COP26 summit is taking place.

“We fully expect our services to and from Glasgow and Edinburgh to be busy during the summit as those visiting these cities will want to travel using green options, including one of the most sustainable forms of transport, the railways.

“Anyone planning on using our services over these weekends is asked to plan ahead, book their journeys as soon as possible and allow extra time when travelling.”

TPE have recently made a public commitment to help address issues around climate change by joining the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and the train operator will now put together a clear set of targets to map out how it will drive down emissions and help care for the planet.

The operator has already cut carbon emissions by 18 per cent since 2019 thanks to the introduction of the Nova fleet of trains, which includes electric and bi-mode traction, and is on track to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent per vehicle kilometre by April 2023.