The UK’s least reliable train operators have been revealed after new data was published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Official statistics show that several companies cancelled 5 per cent or more of their trains in the four weeks leading up to 16 September, with Grand Central, an Arriva-operated franchise that runs trains between London and the northeast, cancelling 9.4 per cent of its services.
Another Arriva brand, CrossCountry, was the second least reliable, cancelling 6.2 per cent of its journeys. Northern Trains, a state-owned operator running services around Yorkshire, the North East and the North West, cancelled 5.5 per cent of trains in the same period.
Rounding off the top five were the Heathrow Express – operated jointly by the airport and Great Western Railway – and Great Western itself, with the two cancelling 5 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.
In the four-week period, strikes by ASLEF and RMT affected operators on 26 August, 1 September and 2 September. The Daily Mail reports that these figures only cover decisions made to cut a service on the day it was meant to run.
Sixty per cent of services were scrapped because of train faults, issues such as a lack of staff or ‘external events’, such as passengers becoming ill.
This varied between operators: more than four in five Grand Central and Northern cancellations were down to the firms, according to the figures.
By contrast, the best-performing operator was Hull Trains, which cancelled under 1 per cent of its services up to 16 September. Southeastern, Chiltern Railways, Caledonian Sleeper and Lumo all cancelled under 2 per cent of services.
The Independent has contacted the five worst-offending operators for comment.
A spokesperson from Great Western said: “We recognise how important it is that our trains are consistent and reliable, and work incredibly hard to ensure that they are. More than 95 per cent, or over 40,000 trains operated during the period, and 95 per cent of those arrived within 15 minutes [of scheduled arrival times].
“These figures should be seen against a backdrop of continued industrial action, where we plan to operate as many trains as possible, and some significant infrastructure challenges in London and the Thames Valley, including a the lineside fire near Didcot.
“We continue to work with Network Rail as we seek to improve the reliability of the track, and we urge the unions to progress discussions to avoid any further, damaging strike action.”
Tricia Williams, Chief Operating Officer at Northern Trains, said: “We recognise that the rail network across the north has not performed as well as we’d have liked, and we are sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused.
“We are very actively managing higher levels of staff sickness, and on Sundays, which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours, we have seen a reduction in drivers making themselves available on parts of the network. In addition, the ongoing industrial relations issues have their own impact.
“We are working hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.
“We remain transparent as a train operating company, and we publish our performance figures online.”
