"Many Photos" - Trains are the least reliable for 17 years because of weather, staff shortages and signal failures

Rail services across the country are the least reliable for 17 years, official figures reveal.

Services became even more shambolic during the autumn than they were in the aftermath of last summer’s timetable chaos, a devastating report concludes.

Leaves on the line, snow, staff shortages, signal failures and power cuts caused misery for passengers.

Rail services across the country are the least reliable for 17 years, official figures reveal. The proportion of severely delayed or cancelled trains is at its highest level since 2001 – affecting about one in 22 services (4.6 per cent) in the final three months of last year

The proportion of severely delayed or cancelled trains is at its highest level since 2001 – affecting about one in 22 services (4.6 per cent) in the final three months of last year.

While about one in seven (14.4 per cent) of trains were at least five minutes’ late – the worst punctuality rate for 13 years as slippery leaf ‘mulch’ on tracks helped wreak havoc.

Passengers across the North were the hardest hit. According to the Office of Rail and Road, the deterioration in train services in recent months was driven entirely by the worst service on Northern rail since records began in 2009.

Delays caused by leaves on the line, stray branches and snow more than doubled (up 114 per cent) from a year earlier. Those due to faulty tracks soared by almost two-thirds (64 per cent) and, overall, more than one in four (15.7 per cent) of Northern’s services were delayed.

Of 26 rail operators, 20 reported a drop in punctuality compared to last year and 23 reported an increase in the number of cancelled or severely delayed trains.

Apart from on Northern, passengers relying on TransPennine Express, the renationalised London North Eastern Railway – formerly Virgin Trains East Coast –Grand Central and Hull Trains saw the most dramatic deterioration in services. 

Transport secretary Chris Grayling was criticised by his Labour counterpart Andy McDonald, who said: 'These figures are an indictment of the failing privatised railway under Chris Grayling’s stewardship

Hull Trains was the least punctual of all, with more than three in ten of its trains delayed.

Andy McDonald, Labour’s shadow transport spokesman, said: ‘These figures are an indictment of the failing privatised railway under Chris Grayling’s stewardship.

‘It is an insult to passengers that fares have soared above wages since 2010 yet the reliability of the railway has gone into decline.

‘Late and cancelled trains harm the economy and damage people’s personal and family lives. We cannot allow this to continue.’

The botched introduction of a new rail timetable in May last year caused more than 300 trains to be cancelled on Northern every day and many more delays.

Passengers in the South using Thameslink and Great Northern services saw 470 services cancelled.

One in seven (14.4 per cent) trains were at least five minutes’ late – the worst punctuality rate for 13 years as slippery leaf ‘mulch’ on tracks helped wreak havoc. Delays caused by leaves on the line, stray branches and snow more than doubled (up 114 per cent) from a year earlier

The ORR has since launched enforcement action against Network Rail – the state-owned body which oversees Britain’s rail infrastructure –for failing to deliver a ‘punctual and reliable’ service.

Northern leaders, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, have claimed that Northern passengers have been neglected.

The old ‘Pacer’ trains, formed by mounting the carcasses of British Leyland buses onto train wheels and still widely used in the North, have become a symbol of this.

Robert Nisbet, regional director at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies and Network Rail, said: ‘We know how important it is that trains run on time and we are truly sorry when this does not happen.

‘The recent timetable change in December has improved reliability but Britain’s railway is one of the busiest in Europe, so train companies and Network Rail are working together to deliver record investment that will ease congestion and boost reliability.’

A Northern spokesman said: ‘The results are disappointing but not surprising when we look at the challenges Northern has faced, including delayed and overrunning engineering work across the North West and challenging autumn conditions. 

'These have affected our ability to deliver the level of service customers expect and deserve and we are very sorry.’

 

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