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Hertford, Bishop’s Stortford and Cheshunt trains more punctual than …

Trains in Hertford, Bishop's Stortford and Cheshunt are more punctual now than they were pre-pandemic, new data suggests. Greater Anglia and London Overground were Hertfordshire's most "on time" train firms in 2022/23, according to the Office of Rail and Road. Only one Herts rail firm failed to meet its scheduled arrival slots more than half the time - Avanti West Coast, whose trains call at Watford Junction on their journeys between London Euston and Birmingham, Manchester or Scotland.

The figures show 81.7 per cent of Greater Anglia's trains pulled into stations early or within a minute of their slot over the last financial year. The train operating company (TOC) also had the lowest "cancellation score" in the county - of 1.5 per cent. Pre-pandemic, in 2019/20, the firm only managed to arrive on time or within a minute of the scheduled slot 69.9 per cent of the time.

This data covers all of the TOC's routes - in London, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. A Greater Anglia spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service[1] : "We are very pleased to be welcoming more people back to the railway, while delivering a safe and punctual service.

"We are now operating an entire fleet of brand-new trains in Hertfordshire, which are longer and have more seats, Wi-Fi, air conditioning and underfloor heating. We will continue to build on this good work to further improve punctuality and reliability on our network."

Arriving on time in Hertfordshire

The Office of Rail and Road has released new data[3] on each train operating company's performance. We now know how many trains arrived early or within a minute of their scheduled arrival slot - "on time". Here's how Hertfordshire's commuter companies got on in 2022/23:

  • Greater Anglia and Stansted Express - 81.7 per cent on time in 2022/23, up from 69.9 per cent in 2019/20
  • London Overground - 74.7 up from 71.2
  • Chiltern Railways - 71.6 up from 67.2
  • Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express - 68.4 down from 70.9
  • London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway - 58.5 up from 52.8

And long distance:

  • LNER - 59.2 per cent on time in 2022/23, up from 45.2 per cent in 2019/20
  • Lumo - 55.6 per cent on time in 2022/23, new entry
  • Hull Trains - 53.1 up from 41.6
  • Avanti West Coast - 40.8 up from 39.6

London Overground trains in Herts and London arrived on time 74.7 per cent of the time last year. This is up from 71.2 per cent pre-pandemic.

With commuter companies topping the table, long distance networks lagged slightly behind. On these routes, a problem as far away as Edinburgh or Blackpool could have a knock-on effect in Watford.

Avanti West Coast, at the very bottom of the table, had 40.8 per cent of its services arrive on time. Its cancellation score was 9.1 per cent. The Office of Rail and Road wrote to Avanti in January year, telling the TOC its passengers were "rightly frustrated" at its service.

The Government announced in March that the company's cancellation rate was falling, and that Avanti had made "significant progress" in making improvements. As a result, the Government said Avanti can continue with the franchise until October 15, 2023.

References

  1. ^ Local Democracy Reporting Service (go.skimresources.com)
  2. ^ Hertfordshire County Council formally opposes plans for mass closure of railway station ticket offices (www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk)
  3. ^ released new data (dataportal.orr.gov.uk)

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