steve158
Member
from tuesday's doncaster star:
Rail service is poorest in the country
TRAINS from Doncaster to Manchester Airport have the worst punctuality record in the country, according to new figures from watchdogs.
In July and August this year TransPennine Express ran 78.8 per cent of its trains on time, meaning more than one in five were late.
The new figures, from Network Rail, also show that Central Trains, which runs services from Doncaster to Lincoln, were little better with just 79.5 per cent arriving on time.
East Coast Main Line operator GNER and regional operator Northern, which also runs trains through Doncaster, performed slightly better than the national average.
There was good news for Midland Mainline, which runs a limited number of trains from Doncaster to London via Sheffield. It was named as one of the most punctual operators, and the best long-haul company in the country.
TransPennine today blamed its out of date trains for the poor performance, but stressed they were slowly getting better.
A spokesperson told The Star: "Performance is improving. The trains we run are around 15 years old and are due to be replaced next year. The targets we have to hit are arriving within five minutes and that is for a service that runs all the way from Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport.
"When we started the franchise the figures were in the low 70s. Our target is 80 per cent. We are also working with Network Rail to make sure the network is as sound as it can be."
TransPennine took over the route from the much-criticised Arriva Trains Northern. Last week the firm was slammed for its record on overcrowding, which often sees passengers having to stand from Sheffield to Stockport during peak times.
The firm told The Star the overcrowding may continue even after it introduces its new trains next year. Network Rail defines "on time" as being within five minutes of the scheduled arrival time for a regional train. For long-haul trains, "on time" is defined as within 10 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
Network Rail chief executive John Armitt said: "August's performance has been good and builds on the momentum of the past two years that has seen steady and consistent improvement," he added.
"The industry's challenge is to keep this momentum going throughout the autumn leaf-fall season ahead."
The Association of Train Operating Companies said: "This is an especially good result for August, from train operators and Network Rail, but punctuality remains a very real challenge."
Overall throughout the country punctuality for July to August was 6.4 per cent better than the 2004 period with more than 85 per cent of trains on time. Operators cut the numbers of minutes in which delays occurred by 29 per cent compared with the same July to August period last year.
The company also announced it had reduced delays from 885,000 to 564,000 minutes over the same period.
what a pathetic excuse IMO! 158s are one of the most reliable units you can get.
i reckon they'll blame it on the ex-CT 158s, or that they have to run trains east of sheffield so often..
Rail service is poorest in the country
TRAINS from Doncaster to Manchester Airport have the worst punctuality record in the country, according to new figures from watchdogs.
In July and August this year TransPennine Express ran 78.8 per cent of its trains on time, meaning more than one in five were late.
The new figures, from Network Rail, also show that Central Trains, which runs services from Doncaster to Lincoln, were little better with just 79.5 per cent arriving on time.
East Coast Main Line operator GNER and regional operator Northern, which also runs trains through Doncaster, performed slightly better than the national average.
There was good news for Midland Mainline, which runs a limited number of trains from Doncaster to London via Sheffield. It was named as one of the most punctual operators, and the best long-haul company in the country.
TransPennine today blamed its out of date trains for the poor performance, but stressed they were slowly getting better.
A spokesperson told The Star: "Performance is improving. The trains we run are around 15 years old and are due to be replaced next year. The targets we have to hit are arriving within five minutes and that is for a service that runs all the way from Cleethorpes to Manchester Airport.
"When we started the franchise the figures were in the low 70s. Our target is 80 per cent. We are also working with Network Rail to make sure the network is as sound as it can be."
TransPennine took over the route from the much-criticised Arriva Trains Northern. Last week the firm was slammed for its record on overcrowding, which often sees passengers having to stand from Sheffield to Stockport during peak times.
The firm told The Star the overcrowding may continue even after it introduces its new trains next year. Network Rail defines "on time" as being within five minutes of the scheduled arrival time for a regional train. For long-haul trains, "on time" is defined as within 10 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
Network Rail chief executive John Armitt said: "August's performance has been good and builds on the momentum of the past two years that has seen steady and consistent improvement," he added.
"The industry's challenge is to keep this momentum going throughout the autumn leaf-fall season ahead."
The Association of Train Operating Companies said: "This is an especially good result for August, from train operators and Network Rail, but punctuality remains a very real challenge."
Overall throughout the country punctuality for July to August was 6.4 per cent better than the 2004 period with more than 85 per cent of trains on time. Operators cut the numbers of minutes in which delays occurred by 29 per cent compared with the same July to August period last year.
The company also announced it had reduced delays from 885,000 to 564,000 minutes over the same period.
what a pathetic excuse IMO! 158s are one of the most reliable units you can get.
i reckon they'll blame it on the ex-CT 158s, or that they have to run trains east of sheffield so often..