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ORR warns performance must improve on Western route

26 March 2008
ORR/09/08

The Office of Rail Regulation today warned Network Rail that there must be an improvement in punctuality and reliability on its Western route.

Train services on the route operated by First Great Western between London, the Thames Valley, the west of England and south Wales, have been subject to high levels of delays and cancellations for some time. The rail industry’s public performance measure shows that only 83 per cent of First Great Western Services arrived on time in the last quarter for which statistics are available, compared with a national average of just under 91 per cent.

ORR is overseeing a joint performance improvement plan - developed by Network Rail and First Great Western – aimed at improving performance on the route. The plan was presented to ORR, representatives of passengers, the Department for Transport and Transport Wales at a meeting on 10 March.

ORR Director of Access Planning and Performance Michael Lee said: “Everyone agrees that the performance of services on Network Rail’s Western Route has been poor for far too long. The cycle where performance takes a step forward only to take another step back is not delivering the necessary improvements.

“I have seen for myself the dedication of people working on this route, and am certain that their first concern is to deliver the best railway they can for passengers and freight customers. But that dedication must now start to manifest itself in improved performance on the line.”

In cases of prolonged poor performance on a particular part of the network, ORR can investigate whether the failure to meet targets constitutes a breach of Network Rail’s licence.

Michael Lee said: “Now is the time for some committed and cooperative work by all concerned, with the aim of shifting performance levels closer to those already enjoyed by passengers and freight customers on most other parts of the network.

“If targets for this route are not met in the near future, then the consequences for Network Rail could be severe. I do not propose, at this stage, to look into whether Network Rail is in breach of its licence – but all parties should be clear that this is an option that may be open in the future.”

Notes to editors

  1. 1. PPM figures refer to Quarter 2 2007/08. PPM is a Government measure, combining figures for punctuality (number of trains on time) and reliability (number of trains cancelled) into a single performance measure. A train is defined as ‘on time’ if it reaches its destination within five minutes (ie. four minutes 59 seconds or less) of its timetable arrival time for London, south east and regional operators; or ten minutes (ie. nine minutes 59 seconds or less) for long distance operators.
  2. Some First Great Western services on Network Rail’s Western Route are subject to the five-minute target, and some are subject to the ten-minute target. The PPM figures reflect this.
  3. Network Rail is accountable to ORR through its network licence.
  4. The Department for Transport has put arrangements in place to hold First Great Western to account for delivery of performance improvement.

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ORR Press Office – 020 7282 2188/2007

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