New study reveals the UK rail stations with the worst delays

Manchester Oxford Road station has been handed the “undesirable crown” of the worst performing station with more than two-thirds (68%) of its trains running late or even cancelled since the start of the year.

The findings come in the latest study undertaken by the consumer group Which? that also revealed as few as one in three trains are on time. 

Researchers studied punctuality data for the 10 busiest London stations and 20 busiest outside the capital for the first nine months of 2018. Data showed Manchester’s Oxford Road station as the worst performing, York as second worst and tied for third worst was Birmingham New Street and Gatwick Airport.

But the disruption at Manchester Oxford Road was even worse at peak times, with more than three-quarters (77%) of trains not departing or arriving as scheduled.

East Midlands Trains was the worst-performing train company operating at that station, with more than three-quarters (78%) of trains departing or arriving late. This was followed by TransPennine Express (73%).

Within the capital, Clapham Junction was the worst performing, with more than half (54%) of trains running late or being cancelled. South Western Railway and Southern were the worst-performing train operating companies serving these stations. South Western Railway had 60% late or cancelled trains, and Southern had 58%.

Which? managing director of public markets Alex Hayman said a rail review recently announced by the government must put “passengers at the centre” and focus on performance targets.

Hayman added: "Passengers have told us reliability is hugely important to them. People have been left deeply frustrated at the unacceptably high levels of delays and cancellations which impact on their everyday lives. The review must not be used as an excuse to delay real action to improve passengers' experiences on the trains today. As a first step, the government must introduce fully automatic compensation, ensuring more passengers get the money they are owed."

Using data from rail-performance tracking site On Time Trains, the consumer group compiled data to find out the trains which were at least one minute late or cancelled.

Percentage of trains running late or cancelled at station outside London:

1. Manchester Oxford Road 68%
2. York 65%
3. Birmingham New Street/Gatwick Airport 60%
5. Bristol Temple Meads 58%
6. Manchester Piccadilly 56%
7. Sheffield 54%
8. Manchester Victoria 51%
9. Woking 50%
10. Liverpool Central 49%
11. Liverpool Lime Street 47%
12. Reading 46%
13. Cambridge 45%
13. Leeds 45%
15. Guildford 43%
16. Edinburgh 42%
17. Cardiff Central 40%
18. Glasgow Queen Street 39%
19. Glasgow Central 34%
20. Brighton 26%