Rail disruption: Huddersfield named UK station with most canceled trains | Railway industry

Railway industry

More than 5,500 trains due to serve the West Yorkshire city in 2023 have been cancelled, BBC research finds

Rail passengers traveling to and from Huddersfield station are most likely to have their plans thwarted by cancellations, an analysis of UK trains has found.

More than 5,500 trains due to serve the West Yorkshire city in 2023 have been cancelled, around one in eight services, according to a BBC study.

Located at the heart of the failing TransPennine Express network between Manchester and Leeds, Huddersfield became a Bermuda triangle of missing trains when the operator axed swathes of services using P-code or ‘ghost’ cancellations the night before they were put into service. service.

BBC analysis of data collated by On Time Trains found other northern stations suffered the worst cancellation rates after Huddersfield, with 10% of trains to Manchester Victoria canceled and 9% of those due stop at York, Newcastle and Manchester Oxford Road, up. on July 31 of this year.

The stations are all served by TransPennine Express, which was placed under state control in May this year due to its poor performance.

Chris Jackson, acting chief executive of TPE, told the BBC that the operator had since “seen improvements in performance and made real progress in rebuilding local labor relations”.

Drivers were refusing to work overtime but were now working on rest days again, helping to bring cancellation rates in Huddersfield down to 3.5%, according to TPE.

Figures also showed that only around half of all trains across Britain were running exactly on time, with 3% canceled and 41% running at least a minute late.

Rail services have been affected by issues such as infrastructure failures and nationwide strikes.

The Campaign for Better Transport said cancellation rates were “unacceptable” and deterred people from traveling by train. Its director, Paul Tuohy, said: “Government and industry need to address this and ensure services are running on time so passengers can travel with confidence. »

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “Ministers have been clear with operators that they need to deliver services on time, minimizing delays.

“To help make our railways more reliable, it is crucial that unions agree to reforms that will modernize the industry. »

A spokesperson for industry body Rail Delivery Group said: “The rail industry works hard to ensure customers have reliable and on-time rail services. This includes significant investments to improve the reliability of infrastructure and rolling stock.

“The ongoing nationwide dispute involving railway unions has caused disruptions to services on both strike days and strike days, but operators have tried to deliver as many services as possible.

The public consultation on one of the central issues of the rail dispute, the closure of station ticket offices in England, received more than 680,000 responses, it was revealed on Monday.

Watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch said it was an “incredible response” to the consultation, which closed on Friday. Concerns have been raised about accessibility, safety and security, ticket machines and station staff. The organizations will review all responses by the end of next month to respond to train operators’ proposals.