Train cancellations hit record-breaking high in the UK

Government accused of ‘abject failure’ to tackle worst offenders

Operators such as Avanti West Coast have cancelled regular services (Getty Images)

Rail cancellations in the UK hit a record high during 2022, new data shows.

Figures obtained from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) shows that one in 26 journeys by train were disrupted this year, double the number in 2015.

The numbers are based on the year to 15 October 2022.

The ORR figures also showed that, in the 12 weeks to 15 October, Avanti West Coast ran just 60.2 per cent of services compared to the same period in 2019.

TransPennine Express, another operator recently accused of poor management, was found to have run 69.2 per cent of services compared to the 2019 period.

Northern trains, CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways, meanwhile, all ran under 75 per cent of services compared to 2019.

Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, accused the government of “abject failure” when it comes to tackling the worst offenders, such as Avanti West Coast, which has been running an emergency-style amended timetable on and off since August.

“This is a scandal years in the making,” she tweeted.

“A decade of broken promises has left the north with creaking infrastructure, while the abject failure of operators is rewarded by ministers time and again. The public are paying the price for Conservative failure.”

The UK’s rail operators have been plagued with industry-wide strikes this year, with the next industrial action set for 26 November, when train drivers who are members of the Aslef union plan to walk out.

On 10 November, a London Underground strike by members of the RMT Union severely disrupted travel in the capital.

Passengers could face another six months of strikes because of ongoing disputes involving drivers and other workers.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said the past year had seen the railways facing unprecedented challenges, such as extreme weather, training backlogs, industrial action and loss of rest day working agreements, adding that it was time to modernise the UK’s railways.

They said: “It’s unacceptable that poor levels of service are preventing hard-working people from going about their daily lives.

“We have earmarked more than £16bn to improve passenger services since the start of the pandemic and are working closely with train operators to ensure long term solutions are put in place so passengers can travel confidently without disruption.”

An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “We know we’re not delivering the service our customers rightly expect and we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience caused. Resolving this situation requires a robust plan that will allow us to gradually increase services without being reliant on traincrew overtime, which fell dramatically in July. Our plans are working and we have seen cancellations drop from nearly 25 per cent at the end of July to 5 per cent for mid November.

“In September, we stepped up our timetable adding extras services on our Birmingham and Manchester routes. In December, we will introduce a significant increase in our timetable, one that will not be dependent on overtime. All our main routes will have more services than they had in May, including Manchester restored to its full three trains per hour service.”

The Independent has approached TransPennine Express for comment.