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Notes to editors

• Flooding had a dramatic effect on train performance across the network during period 9. The adverse weather in every period so far this year, has had the greatest impact than any time in the last ten years
• Arrived on time - the measure of train punctuality also known as PPM (public performance measure) means trains arriving at their destinations within five minutes for commuter services and within 10 minutes for long distance services. This measure of punctuality is commonly used throughout Europe
• National train punctuality is measured for all trains across the whole network, including cancelled services and delays caused by external factors (such as vandalism, extreme weather, suicides etc). Punctuality did not start to be recorded in this vigorous and thorough way until 1997. Before then Railtrack, and BR before, did not measure all services and also excluded external factors and other items from their numbers
• These figures represent initial data for the period and individual operators' performance data may vary slightly from the full period performance report that Network Rail publishes on its website every month
• Network Rail and the train operators run more trains across Great Britain than are run in most European countries - almost 20% more than in France and 60% more than in Italy. Great Britain's 24,000 trains per-day is also more than Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined
• Right time train performance data (% of trains arriving within 59 seconds of schedule) are also available by using this link http://www.networkrail.co.uk/about/performance/
• No other railway in the world publishes the measurement of the punctuality of its rail services within a minute. The vast majority use something similar to the UK’s standard punctuality measure (called PPM, or public performance measure) of within 5 minutes for short distance services or within 10 minutes for long distance. PPM was introduced in 1997 to measure punctuality, taking into account cancellations and all causes of delays and making it the most thorough and accurate measure in Europe.
• This punctuality data includes all trains across the whole network and includes cancelled services and all delays whether the fault of the rail industry or due to third parties or by external factors, such as vandalism, extreme weather, persons hit by trains etc. The rail industry aspires to run every train on time but supports its train drivers in placing safe driving ahead of punctuality, even where a small delay may happen.
• The rail industry sets the standard amongst all transport providers for the accuracy and availability of its punctuality data:
• Over the last 12 months, 91.6% of Britain’s rail services have arrived within their scheduled allowances (within 5 mins for short distance services, within 10 mins for long distance)
• The DfT currently publishes monthly statistics on the reliability of journeys on the Highways Agency’s network of motorways and trunk roads in England – the timeliness of journeys is measured against a set reference time drawn from historical data. In the year to April 2012, 83.5% of these road journeys were considered timely
• The Civil Aviation Authority publishes punctuality statistics for the UK’s ten leading airports. In the year to April 2012, 82% of domestic UK flights to and from Heathrow were early or within 15 minutes of due time, with an average delay of 9 minutes (NB. This is landing time, not time to the gate and disembarkation of passengers)
• Publically available data for the punctuality of rail services in Europe is not uniform. A Finnish survey in 2010 of punctuality across Europe found the following:

• NB. All of the above (except GB) excluded train cancellations from figures and also excluded delays caused externally (fatalities, vandalism etc). Most measured within 5 mins at destination station, although Finland measured within 3 mins. Some only measured peak services or arrivals at major termini
• A significant amount of data and information about train services is already in the public domain. This includes:
• Data on performance, complaints, peak crowding, passenger satisfaction (through Passenger Focus’s National Passenger Survey) and levels of public funding in rail
• Network Rail released its first tranche of data at the end of June, with a new information portal on its website. It provides people with easy access to a range of information about Britain’s rail infrastructure operator, including budget and costs of high-profile projects and real-time train running data
• A wide range of information on train services, including timetables and fares, for example, available through train company websites, third party retailers such as The Trainline, and National Rail Enquiries (NRE) website
• Rail Settlement Plan, part of ATOC, puts its bulk timetable data set into the public domain, allowing anybody to download the information for free