York’s least reliable trains have been revealed.
And it won’t come as a great surprise to regular rail passengers that the honours are shared by TransPennine Express and Northern.
An investigation into rail reliability by The Sunday Times, based on figures compiled by On Time Trains, has found that northern travellers fare the worst on Britain’s rail network.
Between 15 December to 22 February 2020, the worst service was the 7.13am service from Harrogate to Leeds, cancelled 28 times in 55 days.
And these were the most unreliable York services:
| Operator | Service | Trains | Cancelled | % Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transpennine Express | 05:49 York to Manchester Airport | 57 | 12 | 21% |
| Transpennine Express | 04:27 York to Manchester Airport | 50 | 11 | 22% |
| Northern | 18:08 York to Leeds | 58 | 10 | 17% |
| Transpennine Express | 21:35 Manchester Airport to York | 58 | 10 | 17% |
| Northern | 17:42 York to Leeds | 56 | 9 | 16% |
| Northern | 17:16 Leeds to York | 57 | 9 | 16% |
| Northern | 06:33 Leeds to York | 55 | 8 | 15% |
| Northern | 15:07 York to Leeds | 58 | 8 | 14% |
| Northern | 07:56 York to Leeds | 55 | 7 | 13% |
| Northern | 19:11 York to Leeds | 55 | 7 | 13% |
Lowly ranking
Figures from On Time Trains shows that York is the second worst of Britain’s 100 busiest stations.
In terms of its performance in getting trains away on time, only Manchester Oxford Road rates more poorly than York.
That puts it 2,542nd in the rankings of all the UK’s 2,619 stations.
York is Britain’s 42nd busiest station, with an average of 30,205 passengers a day.
Worst of top 100 busiest stations
| Rank | Station |
|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester Oxford Road |
| 2 | York |
| 3 | Coventry |
| 4 | Sheffield |
| 5 | Birmingham International |
| 6 | Newcastle |
| 7 | Milton Keynes Central |
| 8 | Manchester Victoria |
| 9 | Leeds |
| 10 | Manchester Airport |
Source: Northern trains was brought back under public ownership in January.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said passengers had “lost trust in the North’s rail network”.