17.01.17
GTR still bottom for PPM in period 10, despite modest national recovery
The public performance measure (PPM) of rail companies in period 10 across Great Britain experienced a slight rise compared to the same period last year, despite a decline amidst eight of the 23 franchises.
The latest figures from Network Rail shows that the national PPM during period 10 (11 December to 7 January) was at 87.4%, a modest increase on the 87.2% recorded by operators during period 10 in 2015-16.
The greatest improvement was in Caledonian Sleeper which experienced a 13.1 percentage point increase compared to period 10 last year, reaching a PPM of 87.2%. TfL and East Midlands shared the highest PPM of 96.2% as strikes afflicting the Tube network fell the day after the period cut-off.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) unsurprisingly continued to trail behind the rest, again experiencing both the lowest PPM during period 10 at 72.3% and the biggest year-on-year fall of 3.7 percentage points.
The company also recorded the highest rate of cancellation and significant lateness (CaSL) of 11.1%, a 2.3 percentage point increase on 2015-16. GTR has been seen as responsible for causing 55% of its significant delays during period 10, with 42% attributed to external factors such as infrastructure and operations for which Network Rail is accountable.
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GTR’s services are still being affected by severe disruption caused by its dispute with Aslef and RMT over its proposed use of driver-only operated (DOO) trains.
Further strikes are expected next week with RMT due to strike on 23 January and Aslef’s industrial action expected to follow on 24, 25 and 27 January. GTR is looking to block further action by Aslef as it appeals to the Supreme Court over a High Court decision to allow the strikes.
The company with the second-worst PPM and CaSL was First Hull Trains which recorded a PPM of 80.6% and CaSL of 8.8%, although its CaSL figure marked a 4.6 percentage point improvement on last year.
Earlier today, a GTR spokesperson apologised for the results of a survey by the consumer magazine Which? which ranked Southern as bottom for customer satisfaction of all rail operators last year.
The spokesperson said that the results reflect the “wholly unjustified” strikes being taken by Aslef and RMT, knock-on delays from the redevelopment of London Bridge, and performance issues on Great Northern.
“Our passengers deserve better and, together with Network Rail and its £300m funding package to improve track signalling and overall performance, we’re working hard to improve the service,” the spokesperson said.
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