Network Rail reveals that just seven in ten trains are on time
FEWER than seven in ten trains were on time this year, according to Network Rail data out yesterday.
New statistics show for the first time how many rail services make it to their stops early or within one minute of the operator’s schedule.
Just 69.2 per cent of trains were this punctual in the year to 8 December. This compares to 91.5 per cent that were punctual within five minutes for regional services or ten minutes for long distance routes – the traditional measure of railway time-keeping.
Some operators barely scraped 50 per cent punctuality within one minute of their planned arrival times. Crosscountry, which operates a network stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance, posted an annual average of 48.8 per cent, while West Coast operator Virgin Trains managed 54.1 per cent.
The Institute of Directors slammed the figures as evidence of poor value, but the Office of Rail Regulation said the new disclosures would help improve services.