County's rail provision ranks among nation's worst

By Tim Aldred

04 Apr 2024

Pexels Pixabay 163856

A new analysis of government statistics has shown that the rail companies serving Lancashire are among the least reliable in the country.

Travel deal site Tripplo used data from the Office of Rail and Road between January 2021 and September 2023 to find the percentage of train journeys that were either cancelled or delayed by 15 minutes or more.

The worst offender was Avanti West Coast, which connects Blackpool, Lancaster, Preston, Poulton-le-Fylde and Kirkham & Wesham with Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. According to the official figures, 15.36 per cent of its trains were either cancelled or delayed – working out to more than one in six trains not arriving when expected. 

TransPennine Express, which connects Lancaster and Preston with Scotland, Liverpool and Manchester, placed seventh out of the 24 ranked operators, with almost 10 per cent of journeys delayed or cancelled.

The county's main operator, Northern, which serves stations throughout the county, placed 11th, with 6.5 per cent of journeys affected. The company performs closer to the most reliable operator (Great Anglia, 2.2 per cent) than the worst, but still ranks in the bottom half of the league table.

According to the Office of Rail and Road, the percentage of recorded station stops arriving ‘on time’ (early or less than one minute after the scheduled time) in Great Britain was just 62.2 per cent in the latest quarter (1 October to 31 December 2023).

Axel Hernborg, founder of Tripplo, commented on the findings, saying: “The 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 underperforming. 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.”

Enjoyed this? Read more from Tim Aldred

Latest news

1

Contract agreed with Republic of Turkiye for Typhoon aircraft BAE Systems Turkiye contract

Contract agreed with Republic of Turkiye for Typhoon aircraft

27 Oct 2025

2

PM+M announces another 19 promotions across the firm PM+M promotions

PM+M announces another 19 promotions across the firm

27 Oct 2025

3

Celebrating 20 years of connecting the county LBV 20 Celebration Guests

Celebrating 20 years of connecting the county

27 Oct 2025

4

BAKO named 'Supplier of the Year' at awards BAKO Supplier of the Year

BAKO named 'Supplier of the Year' at awards

27 Oct 2025

5

St Annes thrives with strongest August footfall in years St Annes Square footfall

St Annes thrives with strongest August footfall in years

26 Oct 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

Help to grow management course
Help to grow - barriers to growth.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
26 Sep 2025 - 16 Dec 2025

Help to grow management course

Preston Campus , Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 15:00

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women
thumbnail_Emma Weston Illustration WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 18 Mar 2026

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:30 - 15:30

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 09 Jan 2026

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre

The Small Business Academy, Blackpool, FY4 5JX

09:30 - 15:30

Lancaster District Business Support Expo
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
29 Oct 2025 - 29 Oct 2025

Lancaster District Business Support Expo

The Platform, Morecambe, LA4 4DB

10:00 - 15:00

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
06 Nov 2025 - 06 Nov 2025

Chamber Breakfast Networking – November

Porsche Centre South Lakes, Carnforth, LA6 1FW

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Roundtables
10 Nov 2025 - 10 Nov 2025

Lancashire Police business update with The Police and Crime Commissioner

Lancaster Castle, Lancaster, LA1 1YN

14:00 - 16:00

Beyond the Brand: Building trust through values and integrity
1.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

Beyond the Brand: Building trust through values and integrity

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human
2.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
11 Nov 2025 - 11 Nov 2025

AI, Creativity, and what it means to be human

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:00

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
13 Nov 2025 - 13 Nov 2025

The Business Network Central and East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

The AI Lab: E-commerce
Ai Lab ecommerce (1).png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
14 Nov 2025 - 14 Nov 2025

The AI Lab: E-commerce

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin