More than four in 10 trains are late

[Metrailway]

From the Daily Telegraph:

More than four in 10 trains are late, new figures show

More than 40 per cent of trains are not arriving on time, according to new punctuality figures released by the rail industry.

For the first time train operators have been forced to release internal industry figures showing how many services are more than one minute late.

Up until now the only publicly available statistics were those which allowed commuter services five minutes' leeway and long distance operators 10 minutes before trains were classified as being late.

In addition trains have been deemed to have arrived at the station when they pass the last signal before the platform.

According to these figures more than nine out of 10 trains run “on time”, but the real time data which has been released under pressure from Norman Baker, the rail minister, paint a rather different picture.

The worst performer has turned out to be CrossCountry, which runs services linking provincial cities between Penzance and Aberdeen.

(read more)

 

[Tiny Tim]

Not really news. I'm not going to complain about a train being one minute late. I don't even own a watch.

 

[Captain Chaos]

So, how many car journeys made are within 59 seconds of the driver's expected arrival time? How about 10 minutes?

I'm guessing it's probably not much better. If at all.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

....And in other news a plane was spotted at Heathrow.

 

[yorkie]

The suggestion that a train that is only one minute late should count as "late" is not really fair. By that logic nearly all buses are late and most car journeys would also end up "late"! The 'solution' would be to increase timetable padding, which is not to anyone's benefit.

I do think that a train that is 9 mins and 59 seconds late counting as "on time" is a bit too extreme the other way though.

A reasonable compromise would be to use the standard 5 minutes leeway that already applies to shorter distance trains.

 

[Greenback]

I think it is reasonable that 9 mins 59 seconds is counted as on time if the train has been travelling for, say, five hours or more.

It should really be more of a percentage of the journey time.

But of course, we shouldn't expect a radical overhaul of the system.

 

[tec]

Looking at my phone app now for train departure times from my local station...

The next four X-Country trains due in are running 35mins late, 16mins late, 15 mins late, and 3 mins late.

This is why I don't use the railway for commuting.

As a car driver I can arrive earlier if I drive faster, but trains rarely do this!

There have been lots of complaints in the local paper about the delays have got worse since the new winter timetable and fare increase anouncements.

 

[Greenback]

I would not rely on XC services for commuting, simply because of the distances most of their services travel. Any delay at all will have a knock on effect at othe rpoints are booked paths across busy sections of line, junctions and even single line sections have bene lost.

It is even noticeable here, that the services which only run between Pembroke Dock and Swansea tend to be more punctual and reliable than those which travel between Milford Haven and Manchester.

 

[Dewedin]

The number of 'marginal lates' could be a big issue for people relying on connections.

 

[The Planner]

In addition trains have been deemed to have arrived at the station when they pass the last signal before the platform.

Plus the berth offset for the time it takes to actually stop at the platform..... but details don't matter I suppose.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

As a car driver I can arrive earlier if I drive faster, but trains rarely do this!

Google "Eltham Well Hall 1972" and "Morpeth 1969" to see why train drivers don't drive faster when they are late.

 

[WelshBluebird]

I think it is reasonable that 9 mins 59 seconds is counted as on time if the train has been travelling for, say, five hours or more.

Not if you have a ten minute connection somewhere.

 

[Greenback]

Not if you have a ten minute connection somewhere.

That is true, but that is a seperate issue to the recording of punctuality figures.

 

[bronzeonion]

I'm actually shocked at this news cearly unlike everyone else here, really shows how bad punctuality on UK railways is!

 

[MCR247]

What that not every train due in at 09:11 arrive at 09:11:00?

 

[radamfi]

I would be interested in seeing stats for trains arriving within 3 minutes as that allows for comparison with Swiss trains which is traditionally famed for its punctuality.

http://www.sbb.ch/en/corporation/sbb-keeps-switzerland-moving/punctuality.html

says that 87.1% of Swiss trains arrived within 3 minutes in November, below its target of 89%. Of particular interest it states that 97.7% of connections were held.

 

[Captain Chaos]

What that not every train due in at 09:11 arrive at 09:11:00?

I know. It's shocking isn't it. We should all be summarily dismissed if ever our trains are 1 second or more late!

Everyone should just drive instead! We all know how efficient and punctual all car journeys are!

 

[bronzeonion]

What that not every train due in at 09:11 arrive at 09:11:00?

No

That trains are unable to arrive within 5 mins of the scheduled time!

 

[Roverman]

The number of 'marginal lates' could be a big issue for people relying on connections.

Exactly, its not like they let you travel on the next one for free!

 

[ainsworth74]

Exactly, its not like they let you travel on the next one for free!

If you miss a connection because of a delayed earlier train you should never have to pay extra to take a later connecting service as long as you allowed the minimum interchange time.

 

[Dave1987]

Recently during the peak at Chelmsford the driver closed the doors ready to depart, a passenger physically forced the door to stay open to make sure his mate who was late could get on. After this the interlock system on the door was knackered so the train had to be declared a failure. This being at Chelmsford caused major delays and the company was slated for another train failure even though it was caused by a passenger. And like other ppl have said how many bus and car journeys during rush hour are made to within a minute of the specified arrival time. Also if you are stuck in a traffic jam for hours do you get Delay Repay?

 

[Chapeltom]

As long as I make my destination by the time I want to and make connections I honestly could not give a damn if a train is on time or 20 minutes late. Anything over 30 minutes and I start to get annoyed. I had to wait for about 15 minutes extra in torrential rain at Chinley one morning and even though I was soaked to the skin by the time I boarded, really didn't care, I got on and completed the journey without moaning.

Buses are pathetic for punctuality in my experience and usually bus drivers are grumpy sods (apologies to any nice bus drivers out there), train crew are usually fine.

I was recently delayed in a journey by approximately 1hr 20 minutes. This was because a bus service on a 10 minute frequency left me waiting 35 minutes, so I missed my rail connection.

 

[313103]

I'm actually shocked at this news cearly unlike everyone else here, really shows how bad punctuality on UK railways is!

But the 09.33 arrival in Stratford today was one minute early, even though it was announced by the Guard that the train has arrived at its scheduled time.

As an aside i can understand yours and others frustrations, the worst line i know as a passenger on it regularly is the GWML. I often use the service to and from South Wales and is often more then 15 minutes and that is with all the generous padding that is allowed on this route. What is the point of having 125mph trains when the average speed is about 100.

 

[jnjkerbin]

There was a good article in Rail a few weeks ago by Barry Doe comparing punctuality on tge London - Scotland flight paths and the WCML. Needless to say, the raileays came out on top.

Because the railways do quite often offer such a good punctuality/comfort/safety etc. people make a big fuss when trains are late/crowded/unsafe because they are used to them being so much more punctual/pleasant/safe compared to other forms of transport. What proportion of people who have travelled by train can say that they have been involved in an incident? No doubt far, far fewer than can say they've been in a road incident. The same principles apply to punctuality. We have grown to have high expectations of them because of their comparitive superiority over other forms of transport.

Joe

 

[Dave1987]

I think the main problem with our railways are that they are maxed out. I dont want to start a debate on this but if/when HS2 is built it will relieve so much congestion on the WCML so more trains will be able to run. I know on the GEML it would be virtually impossible to put on any more services in the peak and Im sure this is true for GWML and WCML as well. Trains are so close together a 30 sec delay due to a sticky door can result in a 15 min delay an hour later.

 

[TEW]

No

That trains are unable to arrive within 5 mins of the scheduled time!

These statistics are for right time though, within 1 minute of scheduled time. There aren't any figures available for within 5 minutes of time for all TOCsx.

 

[bronzeonion]

But the 09.33 arrival in Stratford today was one minute early, even though it was announced by the Guard that the train has arrived at its scheduled time.

As an aside i can understand yours and others frustrations, the worst line i know as a passenger on it regularly is the GWML. I often use the service to and from South Wales and is often more then 15 minutes and that is with all the generous padding that is allowed on this route. What is the point of having 125mph trains when the average speed is about 100.

How dare the guard commit such an offence

 

[Tiny Tim]

I'm sure nobody expects their train to depart within seconds of it's scheduled time. Therefore, for the purposes of presenting a reasonable picture of punctuality, the present leeway is fair. However, to suppress the actual statistics isn't really helping anyone, and only makes the TOCs look like they're trying to hide something.

I remember a thread some time ago about who 'made the trains run on time'. There were several candidates. None of them nice.

 

[LexyBoy]

If you miss a connection because of a delayed earlier train you should never have to pay extra to take a later connecting service as long as you allowed the minimum interchange time.

I think Roverman had his tongue in his cheek. Nevertheless, although there's no financial loss, missing a connexion often means a much greater delay to the journey than that of the first train, and any reservations held become useless, meaning that the passenger may not get a seat.

A while back my XC service was around half an hour late, meaning a missed connexion onto VT at Wolves. Thus over two hours late into Glasgow, but I was more worried about being on a rammed Voyager all the way with no seats as our reservations were for the missed train. Fortunately we were lucky and it all worked out well- Pendo subbed in for Voyager so plenty of seats, sit down lunch in town whilst we waited and a free 800 mile trip courtesy of Delay Repay

 

[snail]

As a car driver I can arrive earlier if I drive faster

But can you do that and still keep to speed limits? Are you saying you have never been stuck in traffic or found a road closed?