Tough new rail punctuality rules being considered - Daily Telegraph, 13 Apr 12

[whole diary]

[inspector_blakey]

Ministers are re-examining long-standing regulations which allow trains to run late but still be classed as running on time in official figures.

For only the second time since privatisation in the mid 1990s, all train operators managed to run more than nine out of 10 services ^on time^ according to industry figures released yesterday.

But this was only achieved thanks to the leeway they have been allowed under rules which were introduced following privatisation which meant that commuter services were classed as punctual if they were less than five minutes late.

Long distance train operators were given 10 minutes breathing space under the same regulations.

Link to full article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/9201044/Tough-new-rail-punctuality-rules-being-considered.html

[Btline]

Perhaps a reduction to 3 minutes and 5 minutes for commuter/intercity services respectively?

Of course, all that will happen, is extra padding...

I think it's unfair to expect an InterCity train to arrive on the dot each time, tbh. But 10 minutes on a 1/2hr journey from Reading is too long to be on time.

[IndustryInsider]

I think punctuality should be measured by the time recorded at all locations for where that is possible, not the last station on that trains particular journey.  As people have pointed out, as an example, how many passengers on the 06:06 from Reading to Shalford actually travel through to Shalford, compared with those that get off at the previous stop, Guildford?  Usual time taken on through trains to Gatwick from arrival at Guildford to arrival at Shalford is 6 minutes.  Journey time from arrival at Guildford to arrival at Shalford on that train?  14 minutes!

Performance padding won't be so much of an issue if you'd have to insert that padding into all the stops of a given train, as clearly that wouldn't be practical.  Yes, you'll have certain stations for which accurate reports are not possible, but you do with the current system as well (Bicester Town and Bourne End are two of the many examples on the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) region).  Those could be agreed with the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about).  You could still have your 3 and 5 minute thresholds.

[Btline]

Good idea. If the train gets behind 3/5 mins at ANY station during the journey, it is classed as LATE. This would put an end to sneaky TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) adding extra minutes at the end of journeys.

If ANY stops are axed, or if the service terminates/starts short, it is classified as CANCELLED. This would put an end to tired commuters being dumped at a station to improve statistics (unless it was really required to keep the service going).

[IndustryInsider]

I was thinking more along the lines of a percentage score.  So, if a local train departs on time and makes eight station stops en-route, arriving on time for five of them, two minutes late at one of them and four minutes late at the other two, it would score 75%.  The same with cancellations.  I would also suggest a significant delay (over 30 minutes perhaps) results in an added penalty.

[inspector_blakey]

If ANY stops are axed, or if the service terminates/starts short, it is classified as CANCELLED. This would put an end to tired commuters being dumped at a station to improve statistics (unless it was really required to keep the service going).

"Fail to call" is factored into the current performance statistics somehow, although I don't know the exact methodology.