More than 360,000 UK train services were fully or part-cancelled in past year - as reliability plummets

26 December 2024, 14:07 | Updated: 26 December 2024, 16:30

More than 360,000 train services across Britain were fully or part-cancelled in the past year as reliability is at a joint record low amid major staffing shortages.

PA news agency analysis of the latest Office of Rail and Road data found 208,000 services were fully axed in the year to November 9.

A further 161,000 were part-cancelled, meaning they did not serve at least one of their scheduled stops.

The rail industry produces a cancellations score - counting full cancellations as one and part-cancellations as half - which shows the equivalent of 4.0% of the 7.3 million trains planned in that period were cancelled.

That is the joint worst reliability performance in figures dating back to March 2015, when the annual cancellations score was just 1.9%.

Services are being particularly badly disrupted on Sundays as many operators rely on train drivers or guards volunteering to work paid overtime on that day.

Great Western Railway, Northern and ScotRail are among the operators affected.

Rail journalist Tony Miles, of Modern Railways magazine, said: "Much of (the poor performance) is to do with a failure of successive governments to really resolve the staffing issues on rail, and that includes getting a proper seven-day railway in the terms and conditions (of train crew) - and recruiting enough staff - so they don't have to rely on overtime and rest-day working.

"This is putting people off trains and back onto the roads, which is completely contrary to what Government ambition should be."

Mr Miles claimed some train drivers have opted out of extra shifts since the Labour Government offered a multi-year pay deal to their union Aslef without changes to terms and conditions.

He predicted cancellation figures are "probably going to get worse" because drivers are retiring faster than they are being recruited, describing the situation as a "ticking time bomb".

Mr Miles said Network Rail "struggling" to maintain its infrastructure because of inadequate funding is also partly to blame for the high number of cancellations.

He added there is an increase in the number of train staff off work because of sickness as the coronavirus pandemic means many people with a virus now think staying at home to avoid spreading it is better than struggling into work.

Michael Solomon Williams, of pressure group Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Delays and cancellations erode passengers' faith in the railways.

"The rail industry and Government must work together to invest in both the workforce and infrastructure to improve reliability across the whole network."

The operator with the highest cancellations score in the year to November 9 was Avanti West Coast at 7.8%.

It was followed by CrossCountry (7.4%), Northern (5.7%) and Govia Thameslink Railway (5.2%).

The best performing operator was c2c - which runs services between London and Essex - with a score of 1.6%.

In November, then-transport secretary Louise Haigh said train operators have been asked to prepare for their performance statistics to be displayed at most stations to boost transparency.

Her successor, Heidi Alexander, told PA earlier this month: "We are clear that we need to move to a seven-day railway.

"We are too over-reliant on rest day working and so that's a big priority for me as we move into the new year."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Passengers are being let down by poor services, which is why we are committed to delivering the biggest overhaul of the railways in a generation.

"Bringing services back into public ownership will put passengers at the heart of everything we do and allow us to reinvest into our railways.

"We have been clear we will not tolerate poor performance and will continue to hold all operators to account, regardless of ownership."

A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said: "We know how much passengers rely on the railway and the importance of reliable and punctual services.

"Rail staff work hard to enable five million journeys every day and the industry is working together to address the main causes of delays and cancellations.

"Delays and cancellations can occur due to various factors like weather and flooding, industrial action, infrastructure issues such as track or signalling faults, train faults and external incidents such as trespass.

"When this happens, we are raising awareness of delay repay compensation to ensure passengers can easily claim what they are entitled to."