Train cancellations in Britain hit a new high, impacting commuters due to strikes, staff shortages, and weather.
Britain’s trains aren’t running well right now, with train reliability dropping to a new low point. One in twenty-five trains got cancelled this past year, according to data shared by the Office of Rail and Road.
Over 217,000 trains were totally cancelled in the year up to February first, while another 165,000 trains were partially cancelled, skipping some stops.
The rail industry tracks cancellations, counting full ones as one and partial as half. About 4.09 percent of trains were cancelled then, based on data from March 2015 onward, a significant increase from the old cancellation score of just 1.86 percent.
Strikes and staff issues are major causes of the current mess, hurting the rail network’s ability to keep to the schedule. Tony Miles, who works for Modern Railways magazine, spoke about the cancellations.
Miles stated Northern has poor Sunday service, relying on workers doing overtime then, but some workers now refuse to work overtime.
Miles noted that many rail workers are retiring, as soon as possible, even early. Replacing these workers takes a long time, potentially over a year.
The government may need to hire more to end the need for overtime work, but Miles doubts the Treasury will spend the money as he thinks recruitment involves a long wait for results.
Last year, things were particularly bad in early December, when three named storms hit. CrossCountry had the worst score at 7.36 percent, facing training delays and strikes.
CrossCountry cut some services in late 2024, aiming to lower same-day cancellations, and must now fix their performance. Avanti West Coast was second-worst at 7.00 percent.
Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway followed closely, while Caledonian Sleeper, which runs overnight trains to Scotland, did the best at 1.11 percent.
The data misses some late timetable changes, which some companies do more often. The Department for Transport commented on the issue, stating they inherited a broken system now being overhauled.
They are putting services back in public ownership, aiming to place passengers first. Poor performance is unacceptable to ministers, who meet with poor operators to demand immediate action.
The Rail Delivery Group represents the train companies, acknowledging that reliability is important and they try to run as many trains as they can, listing weather, strikes, and faults as key problems.
CrossCountry addressed the cancellation issues, making some changes in the last six months. These changes reduced cancellations and improved punctuality, though more work remains for higher standards.