Passengers ‘roll the dice’ as 130 rush-hour trains a day cancelled
AROUND 130 morning rush-hour trains have been cancelled every day for the last five years, shock figures show.
Since 2019, a total of 237,000 early train services did not run. Commuters on the 6.40am Cardiff to Nottingham service suffered the most cancellations.
The Lib Dems accused the Government of letting rail bosses fail customers with no fear of punishment.
Party transport spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse, who uncovered the official toll using Freedom of Information laws, said: “Passengers are having to roll the dice every day, uncertain as to whether they will get to their final destinations on time or even at all.
“To add insult to injury, instead of sorting out the near unusable network, ministers have punished passengers with ever higher ticket prices. It’s time for the Government to freeze rail fares and sanction train companies who are running rail services into the ground.”
Last year, 55,829 morning rush-hour trains were either fully or partly cancelled – up 10% on 2022 and the worst of any year since 2019.
Strikes
Sixty-eight trains from Cardiff Central to Nottingham failed to run – equal to more than one cancellation every five days.
Northern Trains had the worst operator record, with 25,578 morning services pulled since 2019.
It comes as fares have risen by 5% this year, on top of the 5.9% hike in 2023, and passengers were warned of more strikes and an overtime ban by train drivers.
Aslef union members at 16 train companies will stage three one-day walkouts from April 5 to 8. Overtime bans from next Thursday to Saturday and Monday April 8 to Tuesday April 9 may cause short-notice cancellations.
Some train operators will not run any services on strike days.
In a separate dispute, Aslef’s London Underground drivers are due to walk out for 24 hours on April 8.
A Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: “We are doing all we can to keep trains running and we will work with our industry partners to keep as many trains running as possible. Our advice is to check before you travel and follow the latest information.”