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Thursday 11 Mar 2004

NETWORK RAIL REDUCES DELAY MINUTES - BEST THIRD QUARTER PERFORMANCE FOR FOUR YEARS

Region & Route:

National

Following the publication of the SRA’s ‘Rail Trends’, which show a very significant improvement in train punctuality during the final quarter of 2003, Network Rail is pleased to announce its own performance for that period.  Network Rail delay minutes reduced by 246% in the final three months of 2003, contributing to the overall improvement in punctuality for rail passengers.  Performance for the quarter was the best for four years. Network Rail’s efforts mean that delay minutes were at their lowest level for this quarter since before the crash at Hatfield (17 October 2000).  Total delay minutes for October – December 2003 were 3.3 million compared to 4.4 million in the same period the previous year and 7.9 million in 2000. What’s more, Network Rail’s share of total delays also fell over the three months.  The company was responsible for some 46.54% of rail delays, with external factors (suicides, lineside fires, bridge strikes) causing over 610-12% of delays and the remainder attributable to the train operating companies.  Delays per incident, which had risen stubbornly for almost four years, showed a sustained drop, with infrastructure causes down by some 16%. - more - Rail Trends-2 Iain Coucher, Network Rail’s Deputy Chief Executive, said: “We said when we took control of the infrastructure that we would deliver tangible improvements in performance within 18 months.  There is now irrefutable evidence that we are delivering on that promise.  These are the best last quarter figures since before Hatfield, and whilst we realise there is a long way to go, we are starting to deliver significant improvements for passengers.”