Number of late trains rises 50pc since 2010

THE number of trains that have been cancelled or have arrived significantly late has increased by 50 per cent since 2010, according to new research.

Overcrowding has also risen by more than 25 per cent on the top 10 most packed peak time routes, the numbers suggest.

The news is likely to add to the growing sense of anger against Britain’s rail services following a summer of chaos brought about by scheduling changes, delays to the opening of new lines and station closures.

Yesterday, services on some of the country’s busiest rail routes were disrupted for a third consecutive day because of a strike in the long-running dispute over driver-only trains.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at South Western Railway (SWR) walked out on Friday, leading to cancellations and rail replacement services into London Waterloo and across southern England.

Services in and out of London Euston were also closed for a third consecutive weekend, while on Friday the Government announced the new Crossrail line won’t open until later next year.

A strike was also held on Saturday by RMT members on Arriva Rail North, with further stoppages planned in the coming weeks.

The Labour party carried out the research. A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We are spending over £13 billion through to 2020 to transform transport across the North – the biggest investment any government in history has ever made.

“We are committed to northern investment, which is why we are investing £3 billion upgrading the Transpennine route and providing an extra 500 carriages with space for 40,000 extra passengers and 2,000 additional services each week.

“The Government is also committed to developing Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) – we have given Transport for the North £60million to develop proposals for the scheme, alongside £300million to ensure HS2 can accommodate future NPR services.

Transport for the North is currently working to produce a business case for Northern Powerhouse by the end of 2018.