Cancellation data shows region’s worst-hit stations.
According to data, a Herefordshire station had the highest cancellation rate in the West Midlands region during the past year.
According to Office of Rail and Road (ORR) records analysed by the BBC, 7.5% of services in Ledbury were cancelled in the fiscal year ending in mid-August, ranking 54th in the country.
Coventry had the greatest cancellation rate among the region’s busiest stations, accounting for 3,215 or 4.1% of scheduled train stops.
Rail operators are pledging to enhance reliability, with West Midlands Railway announcing plans to invest more in trains and infrastructure, as well as train new drivers. Meanwhile, Avanti West Coast reported lower total cancellation rates.
‘Weather, trespass and infrastructure’
An Avanti West Coast spokeswoman added: “During the time period mentioned, nearly two-thirds of our cancellations were due to factors such as infrastructure, weather, or trespass.”
The business stated that their overall figure has “more than halved” since this time last year, with the ORR recently indicating that this was the highest improvement compared to other train operators.
Coventry has the 30th highest percentage of cancelled stops among the country’s 100 busiest stations.
Birmingham New Street ranked 31st, with 4% of its 302,123 scheduled stops cancelled within the same time period.
The city’s quieter Moor Street station had 3.3% of its 67,100 anticipated stops cancelled. According to the data, these were among about three million cancelled stops in Britain out of a total of 89 million scheduled.
Campaign for Better Transport’s Michael Solomon Williams stated that cancellations were “eroding passenger faith in the railways”.
He stated that they were “not just an inconvenience” but also caused “real problems, including literally leaving people stranded,” and asked for “tougher targets, automatic compensation, and proper investment.”
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents National Rail and other train operators, stated, “We understand how essential reliability and punctuality are to our customers, and the rail sector is working hard to preserve as many services as possible.
“This includes significant investment to improve infrastructure and rolling stock reliability.” Train operators attempted to keep as many trains running as possible, but cancellations or delays “can occur due to various factors, such as extreme weather, infrastructure issues like track or signalling faults, train faults, and external incidents, such as trespass.”
A representative for the Department of Transport stated that it was “determined to drive up standards across the railways,” adding that “we are beginning to see positive signs of progress with overall cancellations starting to fall.”
Read more on Straightwinfortoday.com
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.