Rail regulators say staff strikes and extreme weather conditions are to blame for the mass decline of timely services coming into UK stations.
A new report from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) found that the standard of train services has plummeted, with an average 29.8% of all trains running late, compared to 27.2% just a few months ago in April. It also found the percentage of cancelled train services has increased from 3.4% to 3.7% since the start of the financial year.
National freight performance is also at its lowest point for the last five years.
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ORR chief executive John Larkinson said: "Passengers and freight are suffering from poor train performance, with issues extending across all of Network Rail’s regions.
“There are of course factors beyond Network Rail’s control to delivering good train performance, including further industrial action and potential extreme weather events.
“And there are areas such as trespass and theft where Network Rail has worked hard to reduce delays. But it can nevertheless do more.
“It is essential that the company now delivers on the specific interventions we have set out today. We willcontinue to scrutinise delivery and will take further action if there is insufficient progress.”
The regulator found that services had been disrupted by staff strikes, which had a knock-on effect on freight operators and led to a backlog of maintenance needed on Network Rail trains, resulting in additional speed restrictions to manage safety risk.
Extreme weather in July led to further disruptions due to overhead lines and tracks not being designed to operate in very high temperatures.
Drought associated with the hot weather also resulted in land supporting train tracks in some locations drying out, causing track defects requiring the introduction of speed restrictions and reduced timetables to ensure safety.
The report also found a number of other causes for delays which were out of Network Rail's control, including a rise in fatalities and trespass on the tracks, and an increase in vandalism and theft.
However, it added that more needed to be done by National Rail to improve its infrastructure in order to provide better services.
Liverpool Central station was due to close for three days from from the end of this week so engineering work for Merseyrail's new fleet of trains could be carried out. However, this has been been postponed due to the three 24-hour national strikes recently announced by the RMT union.
A National Rail spokesman said: “We welcome the ORR’s report and recognise we must work very hard to improve performance for our passengers and freight customers in the North West and Central region.
"We are taking swift and targeted action to reduce delays caused by track and overhead line failures, and delays caused by trespass incidents. Combined with our efforts with train operators to increase train services through a new December 2022 timetable, we are confident we are making the changes needed to provide a reliable railway infrastructure for the future.”
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