Railway adopts ‘right time’ punctuality measure

BRITAIN’S railway is to use the actual time that trains arrive at stations as a new punctuality measure, with the Rail Delivery Group claiming it is the most transparent measure of its type in Europe.

Although the existing Public Performance Measure (PPM) will be retained, by April 2018 the punctuality of all main line train operators will be recorded to the minute, and include intermediate stations as well as destinations.

RDG’s latest figures show that for the period between May 28 and June 24, 34.5% of trains arrived early, 64.8% were on time, and 91.7% were within five minutes of the timetable.

This figure covers punctuality at all stations. Currently, it is possible to measure to-the-minute performance for 80% of all station stops. Between now and the introduction of the new measure, the railway will work to increase this, possibly by using GPS data from trains.

RDG claims the new performance regime compares favourably with that of airlines, where the definition for on time is within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.

“Rail companies are putting an even greater focus on ensuring that trains are meeting the timetable, arriving to the minute and at stations along a journey,” said RDG Chief Executive Paul Plummer.

“We are pushing ourselves to drive better punctuality because it will help to deliver a more reliable railway for the whole of Britain.”

Transport Focus Chief Executive Anthony Smith said: “Passengers want a reliable, on-time train service. How that performance is measured and reported should closely mirror passengers’ real-life experience, otherwise trust will not be built up. It is good to see the rail industry reporting on-time performance at more stations.”

The punctuality benchmark is expected to be adopted officially by Network Rail when Control Period 6 begins in April 2019. Enhanced measures of cancellations, average passenger lateness and the proportion of trains arriving within 15 minutes of schedule are also planned.