Punctuality dip for train passengers in South wales

TRAIN punctuality on local commuter services in Wales has dipped dramatically because of the collapse of a church in Cardiff, according to their operator.

Arriva Trains Wales had been one of the best performing train operators in the UK for most of the early part of this year.

But it blamed a slump in punctuality in the four weeks from June 26 to July 22 on the collapse of a derelict church known as the Citadel in Splott, in which a man died.

During the four-week period, just under one in four (38.5%) of Arriva Trains Wales services were more than a minute late and one in 10 (90.1%) were more than five minutes late.

It significantly down on the equivalent figures for April 30 to May 27, when Arriva Trains Wales was “the most punctual in Britain”.

Then, only 14.6% of services reached final stations were more than 59 seconds late.

Great Western Railway, which runs mainline services from South Wales to London, recorded similar statistics with slightly over one in seven (13.5%) services arriving more than five minutes late.

Although train firms operate on very different networks, it suggests Great Western was the eighth worst for punctuality out of the UK’s 22 operators and Arriva Trains Wales ninth.

Lynne Milligan, customer services director for Arriva Trains Wales said: “We have been delighted to be amongst the top two train operators in the UK for right time punctuality for most of 2017.

“This is due to the hard work of our staff across the business and our close partnership working with Network Rail.

“Performance in the most recent period has been affected by the collapse of a church in Splott next to the mainline between Cardiff and Newport on July 18 which caused some significant delays and cancellations.

“We have worked hard with industry partners to reduce the effects of this disruption on our passengers during this period.”

A spokesman for GWR said: “Almost nine in 10 of our services arrive within 10 minutes of the advertised time, and 86% within five minutes.

“However, we know how important punctuality is to our passengers. That is why we set ourselves challenging targets for improvement, and when we fall short of those standards, it is right that we compensate accordingly.

“We recognise that there have been significant infrastructure challenges on key parts of our network.

“Everyone at GWR and Network Rail is determined to see improvements, and we are working hard with Network Rail to help them deliver improvements for us.

“The Great Western network is currently undergoing it’s biggest period of investment since Brunel.”