Rail firms must stop using loophole that hides cancellations

RAIL operators have been ordered to stop using a loophole that lets them hide the true scale of cancellations.

In a letter sent to train operators, the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), the rail watchdog, said the practice of cancelling trains but not recording them in official statistics, through “P-coding”, was inappropriate and needed to end.

It also demanded that train operators report all instances of P-coded cancellations in official numbers in the future.

P-coding, or pre-cancellations, refers to the practice where train companies cancel trains before a 10pm deadline the night before.

Because they have not been cancelled on the day, they do not show up in official ORR statistics – meaning the figures are below the actual number of cancelled trains.

It also means travellers often miss out on compensation through the “delay repay” scheme.

On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph reported that transport campaigners had accused companies of “artificially massaging figures” through P-coding.

The ORR has now called on Network Rail and operators to work together and provide a plan to end instances of P-coding by March 10.