Network Rail slated for too many delays
Targets were missed in three out of five regions
NETWORK RAIL’S performance was just not good enough in 2019/20 as parts of Britain suffered too many train delays, according to the rail regulator.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) found that targets for the level of disruption to passenger services attributed to Network Rail were missed in three out of five regions, including the one covering Yorkshire.
The worst performance was in the North West and Central area, with the best in the Wales and Western region.
In the 12 months to the end of March, the overall proportion of passenger trains that arrived at stations within one minute of the timetable was 64.8 per cent, up 1.4 percentage points year on year.
Meanwhile, Network Rail’s performance in relation to freight trains was classed as poor.
In the Eastern region, which operates to and from cities such as Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Norwich, Cambridge and London, passenger train and freight targets were missed.
The Government-owned company said around a third of the delays attributed to it were caused by external factors such as vandalism, cable theft, trespass and the weather.
The ORR did find that Network Rail saved more than £385 million in the first 12 months of a five-year plan to deliver £3.5 billion of efficiency savings. ORR chief executive John Larkinson said: “We are very pleased that Network Rail has listened to and acted early on our concerns about making efficiencies, meaning that for the first time in many years it is delivering more efficiently than planned.
“It also delivered its planned volumes of work to help keep the network in good condition.
“This efficient delivery is good news for its customers and funders. But performance in terms of delays to passengers and freight was uneven and just not good enough in some parts of the network.”
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: “We welcome the ORR’s recognition of the unprecedented progress we’re making to deliver efficiencies.
“We know there is much more to do to provide a consistently reliable service for passengers and agree with the regulator that we have seen real performance improvement in some parts of the country but this is not yet consistent across the network.
“The ORR has also highlighted the industry’s strong response to the pandemic.”
He added: “Our ability to provide an exceptionally reliable service for passengers who have needed to travel by rail and the way we have been able to maintain a comprehensive programme of infrastructure renewal and improvement is a testimony to the immense professionalism and pride of many thousands of rail workers.”