Merseyrail most punctual' rail network in UK for second year running

[Saperstein]

From BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-51189289

Train operator Merseyrail has been confirmed as the UK's most punctual rail service for the second year running.

Merseyside's rail network recorded its best year for punctuality with 96.4% of its trains running on time in 2019.

Operations director Zoe Hands, said she was "thrilled" with the results but also thanked Network Rail "who have been the bedrock of our performance".

Merseyrail carries 110,000 passengers per weekday on more than 600 trains.

Ms Hands said: "These punctuality results cement the fact that Merseyrail is consistently one of the best performing rail operators in the country and I'm so glad we can put our region on the map when it comes to the best train services in Britain."

Councillor Liam Robinson, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Portfolio Holder, said: "At a time when some rail services in other areas of the country and region are so poor, it's great to see that the Merseyrail network is performing well."

'Hard work'

Phil James, Regional Director for Network Rail's North West route, said: "There is a lot of hard work taking place across the North West, with our train and freight operating partners, to identify areas of improvement."

All train operating companies are obliged to publish their Public Performance Measure (PPM) which is the official measure of punctuality.

The PPM considers a train to be on time if it arrives at its destination within five or 10 minutes after schedule, for short and long-distance journeys respectively.

A spokesman for regulator the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) said Merseyrail was "the most punctual service in terms of PPM in Great Britain in 2019."

He added: "It's also true to say it was most punctual on the same basis last year (2018)."

Any chance of this sort of performance with Northern?

Anyway, Like the picture of 507017 in the original livery that the BBC used

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not massively surprising - it's also the simplest network in the country.

Lessons there?

 

[S&CLER]

Near-uniform fleet, uniform stopping pattern, simple out and back routes. Do drivers and guards stay together in diagrams? "Keep it simple" is the message.

 

[Mag_seven]

Near-uniform fleet, uniform stopping pattern, simple out and back routes.

Like Chiltern and C2C - relatively self contained as well.

 

[Taunton]

We lived on the Wirral electrics in the 1960s-70s, I don't recall a single train ever being late. 100% reliability for me. 96%, 1 in 25 late, seems a decided drop off.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I posted elsewhere that Merseyrail are congratulating themselves on the station PIS at Liverpool South Parkway, with a scrolling message that says:
"We are the best performing train operator in the UK with 96.4% of trains arriving on time" or closely similar.

However it's also displayed on the PIS for the platforms which see only trains from Northern and WMT, who are definitely not in the same category of punctuality.
They see EMR and TfW trains too, which are a bit better.
Merseyrail really should clarify who "we" is in this context.

 

[Gems]

Not exactly hard to see why. I think the Newcastle Metro covers a bigger area.

 

[73001]

Not exactly hard to see why. I think the Newcastle Metro covers a bigger area.

A quick google disproves that with every measure.

 

[Gems]

A quick google disproves that with every measure.

Well it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but if you only run a small network it is a lot less difficult for things to run late.

 

[73001]

Well it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but if you only run a small network it is a lot less difficult for things to run late.

Oh yes, I quite agree. No broken down freight trains in the way etc. It's my local network, maybe I was a little touchy.

 

[exile]

Sure, it's a simple network, and so on. But there was a time when that wasn't enough to make it a reliable service - the days when it was known as "Miseryrail". Glad to see things have improved.

 

[Djgr]

All the negativity with this news. Credit where credit's due.

 

[L401CJF]

I regularly commute with them and have been using them my whole life, it was a bit grim 20odd years ago, but don't have any problems. I also have no problem with the trains being so old, they've proven trusty workhorses and look fairly tidy most of the time. Let's hope the 777s prove to be as fantastic as has been promised..

 

[Skie]

It may be a largely self contained network but it’s also a very intensive service with huge volumes of passengers on relatively ancient infrastructure.

Somehow they manage 600+ trains a day into a station opened in 1892 with 3 platforms that sees ~15million people a year.

 

[Starmill]

Not exactly hard to see why. I think the Newcastle Metro covers a bigger area.

It might be a small network geographically and by route km, but it is also one that serves a rather large number of stations with quite an intensive service. Accordingly,, it carries quite a large number of passengers. It isn't necessarily easy to do that and still be on time. Indeed, the tight turnaround at Chester mandated by the single available platform is a common causes of issues and sometimes of having to skip stops on the Wirral line, which goes down poorly.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but if you only run a small network it is a lot less difficult for things to run late.

And much easier to get them back on time with a cancellation and a step-up. Indeed, pre the electronic PIS you wouldn't know if a train showing up 15 minutes late was a cancellation or a delay.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed, the tight turnaround at Chester mandated by the single available platform

Tight turnarounds are not mandated by a single platform. Turnarounds at single platform stations have in the past been much longer, including at Chester. At Ormskirk in BR days it was about 12 minutes - one would be going out just as the other reached the single track section.

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/OMS/2020-01-21/1200

Edit: and with the extra diagram put into the Ormskirk/Kirkby circuit to deal with Maghull North (splitting them up to two separate ones now I believe) it is once again 12 minutes, from a quick nose at RTT! Good.

The problem is caused by them being cheap and running one fewer diagram than they need to run. The leaf fall timetable is robust and is what they should be running all the time.

What doesn't I suppose help the Loop is that there's no turnaround at the Liverpool end.

 

[Meerkat]

Do they have to stay on diagram or can a Chester train coming into the loop out of turn go out as a West Kirkby instead?

 

[156420]

The problem is caused by them being cheap and running one fewer diagram than they need to run. The leaf fall timetable is robust and is what they should be running all the time.

What doesn't I suppose help the Loop is that there's no turnaround at the Liverpool end.

Merseytravel won’t allow the Leaf-Fall timetable to be in all year round. Something to do with extended journey times.

Everyone else is all for it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Merseytravel won’t allow the Leaf-Fall timetable to be in all year round. Something to do with extended journey times.

Everyone else is all for it.

<sigh>

 

[156420]

From a passengers perspective it’s great, less chance of a non-stop service due to late running.

But there are waits outside Chester station whilst one leaves (3-4 mins) And a slower journey to Liverpool (up to 5 mins longer) with standing time en route, being the only downsides.

 

[8J]

Merseyrail do utilise full crew working most of the time (the same driver and guard stay together for their turn) and in my opinion, this works and should be mandated in all future franchise specifications. (TPE/Northern/WMT regularly cancel trains short of destination due to one crew member being late arriving to a relieving point)

 

[Bevan Price]

Do they have to stay on diagram or can a Chester train coming into the loop out of turn go out as a West Kirkby instead?

That used to happen daily until they changed the timetable a few years ago.
If a train gets more than about 5 minutes late, they sometimes omit some of the intermediate stations, e,g. Liverpool Lime Street, Central then next stop Hooton. That way, you can be on time - or even a couple of minutes early at Hooton.

 

[yorkie]

Tight turnarounds are not mandated by a single platform.....

Not by itself, no.

But unless you change the timetable...! But if anyone wishes to explore such possibilities, this would require a new thread in the appropriate section

 

[L401CJF]

That used to happen daily until they changed the timetable a few years ago.
If a train gets more than about 5 minutes late, they sometimes omit some of the intermediate stations, e,g. Liverpool Lime Street, Central then next stop Hooton. That way, you can be on time - or even a couple of minutes early at Hooton.

There was also one early morning one which was a peak extra, started at Chester, via Loop then Birkenhead North and into the depot. Always a 6 car, no idea if it still runs as I use the West Kirby line now. I last used that service back in around 2012

 

[jamesst]

Merseyrail do utilise full crew working most of the time (the same driver and guard stay together for their turn) and in my opinion, this works and should be mandated in all future franchise specifications. (TPE/Northern/WMT regularly cancel trains short of destination due to one crew member being late arriving to a relieving point)

Sadly the same driver and guard working together for the whole job is slowly becoming a thing of the past. At Kirkdale and Southport none of the weekday jobs match, at Birkenhead weekday evenings and Sundays are vastly different.

 

[frodshamfella]

When we will we hear something concrete regards to Headbolt Lane and Skelmersdale I wonder ?

 

[8J]

Sadly the same driver and guard working together for the whole job is slowly becoming a thing of the past. At Kirkdale and Southport none of the weekday jobs match, at Birkenhead weekday evenings and Sundays are vastly different.

That is a shame. I always wonder what the reason for removing full crew working is and I always come to the same conclusion - to save a few quid at the expense of service robustness.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

All the negativity with this news. Credit where credit's due.

Credit .........… seriously, where they constantly skip stations and run fast when delayed to be on time at destination but skip 8 stations en route... cooking the books a bit I would say.

 

[Agent_Squash]

Credit .........… seriously, where they constantly skip stations and run fast when delayed to be on time at destination but skip 8 stations en route... cooking the books a bit I would say.

A train fails PPM when it skips a station.