BRAND new trains for York's route to Manchester and Scarborough are to come into service later than hoped, after technical problems arose.

TransPennine Express (TPE) says passengers will have to wait until the New Year to experience its brand-new Nova 3 trains.

A spokesman said CAF, the train's manufacturer, had recently made TPE aware of a technical issue with a key on board system, and was working hard to ensure this was addressed as soon as possible.

"TPE are confident that customers will start to see new trains in service by spring next year and the issue does not affect the other two new Nova fleets, Nova 2 and 1, which customers will also experience next year," he said, adding that all three train fleets and an extra 13 million seats were still on track to be delivered by 2020.