Train punctuality hits 13-year low ahead of season ticket prices rise
TRAIN PUNCTUALITY has slumped to a 13-year low after major issues plagued Britain’s railway network during the past year.
One in seven trains missed the industry’s Public Performance Measure, which monitors whether a train arrives at its final destination within five minutes of the scheduled time, or 10 minutes for long-distances. The Office of Rail and Road figures looked at punctuality in the 12 months to December 8. Analysis of historical data has revealed that the annual rolling average has not been worse since September 2005.
As reported by The Yorkshire Post this month, almost 80 trains per day were being cancelled by the region’s two biggest operators following disastrous timetable changes in May.
The statistics showed that just 62 per cent of TransPennine Express services and 67 per cent of Northern services arrived on time in November, the worst performance over the last two years.
Anthony Smith, the chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said: “People using the railway need to be able the rely on the industry’s most basic promise – the timetable.”
The cost of many rail season tickets is set to rise next week. Robert Nisbet, from the Rail Delivery Group, said the industry was “learning the lessons from May” and investing to ease pressure on the network.