ScotRail named one of most reliable train operators in UK in new study

ScotRail has been named as one of the most reliable train companies in the UK in a new study.

Analysis of official figures for the UK’s 24 major train operators, focusing on the percentage of train journeys either cancelled or delayed by 15 minutes or more, showed ScotRail with the fourth best performance.

ScotRail emerged from the study as the fourth best-performing train operator in the UK in terms of delays and cancellations.

The study said on average 3.61 per cent of ScotRail journeys between January 2021 and September 2023 were seriously late or cancelled, although that still meant 1,695,445 minutes of delay, the equivalent of more than three years of lost travel.

The study was carried out by travel deal site Tripplo, using data from the Office of Rail and Road. According to the analysis, the most reliable train operator in the UK during the period in question was Greater Anglia, which runs services in East Anglia. Second placed was c2c, which operates services in Essex and third slot went to Fhiltern Railways. These top three companies all had less than three per cent of journeys cancelled or badly delayed.

At the other end of the table, Avanti West Coast - whose services include cross-border trains to and from Edinburgh - emerged as the least reliable train operator, with 15.36 per cent of all trains being cancelled or delayed by 15 minutes or more - working out at just over one in six trains not arriving when expected.

Second least reliable was Grand Central, which operates between Yorkshire and London. And third place went to CrossCountry, which has cross-border services to and from Edinburgh, and saw 12.26 per cent of its trains arriving 15 minutes or more late or cancelled altogether.

The fourth and fifth least reliable train companies, according to the study, were Lumo and LNER, which both run trains between Edinburgh and London. Lumo, which launched in October 2021, had 11.46 per cent of all trains arriving seriously late or being cancelled. LNER’s record showed 10.43 per cent of journeys cancelled or seriously delayed.

Also among the worst 10 performing operators were Caledonian Sleeper, in sixth place, with 9.42 er cent of all trains cancelled or seriously late, and TransPennine Express, another company serving Edinburgh, in seventh with a score of 9.29 per cent..

Axel Hernborg, founder of Tripplo, said: “These findings offer a glimpse into the state of the nation's rail services. Across the nation, there's a noticeable variation in performance, with some operators, such as Avanti West Coast, consistently under-performing.

“This variability in findings perhaps highlights the complexity of maintaining a cohesive rail network while emphasising the necessity for ongoing evaluation, strategic planning, and investment to bolster reliability standards and enhance the overall passenger experience.”

“It’s no secret that the UK’s rail network is a far shout from those within mainland Europe in terms of efficiency and reliability, and these findings simply underscore that.”