In analysis that might not come as news to rail passengers already stranded this festive season, Labour have warned of potential “Christmas chaos” on trains after data showed a record level of payouts for rail delays in November.
Three train operating companies – Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway (GWR) and East Midlands Railway – saw their highest ever number of payments to passengers for delayed services last month, above pre-Covid levels, the party said.
Official figures for train punctuality and repayments, to which passengers are automatically entitled for delays beyond a certain length, showed what Labour described as a gloomy warning for the likelihood of Christmas delays.
Some have already arrived, albeit mainly caused by the weather, with suspensions to train services in Scotland after damage caused by Storm Pia on Thursday. In England, Southeastern said it had cancelled some trains because of a shortage of crew.
Labour’s analysis of data from the Office of Rail and Road showed that from July to September the train operators with the worst punctuality records were Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railways and GWR. In that period, fewer than half (46.3%) of Avanti’s services ran on time.
Other figures show that in the year to November this year, Avanti West Coast, which gained a nine-year contract extension in September, saw a 128% increase in successful delay repayment claims from the same period 12 months earlier, rising from 45,900 to 104,700.
The equivalent year-on-year rises for GWR and East Midlands Railway were 123% and 11%.
Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, said: “Passengers across the country will be dreading another year of Christmas chaos after the Tories have run our railways into the ground.
“This government has delivered record delays and cancellations, throwing more and more public money at failing operators for ever-worsening services. Labour will bring our railways back into public ownership, as contracts expire, and ensure services finally work in the interests of the passenger.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Both government funding and performance levels in the rail sector are higher now than before the pandemic. We are investing huge sums into major projects such as the Transpennine route upgrade and billions of redirected HS2 funding into other rail projects as part of our Network North plan – benefitting more people, in more places, more quickly.
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“Strike action and outdated work practices supported by union leaders continue to take its toll on the sector and while the industry are working to resolve the ongoing dispute with Aslef and implement much needed reform, we continue to work closely with operators to ensure they provide the best possible experience across our railways, making clear that we will hold them to account if they let passengers down.”
