Train cancellations close to worse ever, ORR report shows

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has released its annual assessment of the industry, highlighting that overall performance of the network had stabilised during the last year (excluding the Wales and Western Region) however, it did warn that Network Rail had work to do on coping better with severe weather.

There was further bad news for Network Rail as train cancellations remained at 3.8% which is close to the worst ever. In Scotland, 2.3% of trains were cancelled, which was an improvement on the year before.

ORR highlighted the continuing issues with cancellations and lateness in the Wales and Western region. In a report which it published in May, it requested an improvement plan to be presented by the end of August. The regulator has warned that if Network Rail fails to develop an adequate plan it retains the option to implement a last resort penalty of £3m. It also warned that the company ensures that other regional plans are reviewed regularly, to ensure that the issues seen with the Wales and Western Region is not repeated elsewhere.

It also noted that freight performance had also improved steadily over the last year; with cancellations at 1.78%. This was slightly higher than the target of 1.68% and was largely blamed on asset failures across the network.

Although safety has remained a key focus of Network Rail’s efforts, ORR did highlight failures on earthworks and drainage had reached their highest levels since 2008 and recommended that it speeds up its structural surveys and conditions monitoring over the next year. ORR also emphasised that whilst next year will see change within the industry, Network Rail should remain focused on frontline maintenance and renewals to ensure momentum is not lost.

John Larkinson, ORR chief executive said: “There is pressure on Network Rail from climate change, ageing assets and the need to increase maintenance work to compensate for reduced renewals spend.

“The company needs to maintain safety, improve train performance and deliver further efficiencies against this backdrop.”

Crucially however, it did deliver on its £4 billion efficiency targets which was set over the last control period and was delivered despite some extremely challenging inflationary pressures.

Larkinson added: “Network Rail has successfully delivered its efficiency targets for the year, which is good news for those who fund the railway – passengers and taxpayers.

“And it is positive that it has largely stabilised train performance, although we needed to take enforcement action on the Wales and Western region to secure improvement for passengers and freight.

“I’m pleased that the company has committed to delivering a performance improvement plan to us for the region.”