The path to a railway that “serves passengers better”

Rail Minister Lord Hendy laid out Labour’s ambition before a recent Transport Select Committee hearing, but how can this be achieved as we head towards Great British Railways and greater devolution? asks PHILIP HAIGH

Philip Haigh Transport writer

PASSENGERS can expect a boost in rail punctuality from 2026 - but not necessarily because more trains are running on time. The boost comes simply from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) moving the punctuality goalposts to give train operators and Network Rail an easier time. Instead of measuring how many trains arrive within one minute of scheduled arrival, ORR will instead allow trains running three minutes late to count as punctual. On current performance, this instantly lifts punctuality from around 66% to about 84%. Unsurprisingly, ORR reports that rail companies largely agreed with its proposed loosening. It says that measuring ‘Time to 3’ is more realistic and sensible, arguing that “a large proportion of on-time failures [are] difficult to attribute given current systems available”. ORR claims passenger support…

You're reading a preview of

RAIL (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 1026

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.