17.11.14
Rail punctuality falls nationally in Oct-Nov
The number of trains that ran on time nationally between October and November fell to 84.6% compared to 86.2% for the same period in 2013.
According to the latest figures from Network Rail, passengers who experienced the longest delays in this period were on long distance trains averaging at a delay of 5.3 minutes, which was actually down on last year’s 6.9 minutes figure.
The national PPM was also well below the moving annual average of 89.3%.
c2c Rail, which started the new 15-year Essex Thameside franchise last week, a franchise the National Express-owned company has been running since 1996, was named the UK’s most punctual rail company.
In the four weeks to 8 November – the last day of c2c’s old franchise – 96.9% of c2c trains arrived on time. This was more than any other UK train operator.
Julian Drury, c2c managing director, said: “We finished the old c2c franchise exactly where we wanted to be: as the UK’s number one rail company for punctuality.
“We’re now aiming to retain that reputation for punctuality, while adding other improvements like extra capacity, new ways to pay for travel, and more compensation when passengers are delayed.”
Other top performing operators included London Overground, which saw its PPM for the period increase from 93.4 to 93.6%; Chiltern saw a 0.3% PPM increase taking its total to 93.3%; and Merseyrail was at 91.7%, but this was a fall from its 94.8% achieved in the same period last year.
At the other end of the spectrum, Govia Thameslink Railway and Southern delivered the worst punctuality percentages, jointly, at 78.7%. Govia’s was down from the 82.2% achieved by its predecessor First Capital Connect the year before, whereas Southern fell from 80.4%.
Crosscountry also had punctuality figures in the high 70%s region. The operator saw its performance level fall from 83% to 79.3% in the 12-tmonh comparable period.
One of the largest performance percentage falls, however, was seen by TransPennine Express, which saw its punctuality figures fall from 88.4% to 80.5%.
To view the full PPM figures, click here.
(Image: c. Alastair Grant/PA Images)
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