Tyne and Wear Metro was the best performing rail operator in the UK last year, new figures show.
Metro ran 95.57% of trains on time during 2007-8 – ahead of all UK rail franchise performance figures just published by the Office of Rail regulation. The performance figure recorded in Metro’s Customer Charter is for the number of trains that run within three minutes of the timetable – one of the toughest measures in the country. Metro runs 453 trains and a total 17,668km every weekday – more than many train operators and the equivalent to travelling from Newcastle to New Zealand. The figure means that more than 19 out of 20 trains arrived on time last year – and so far this year the figure is even better, with 96.72% of trains on time. Mick Carbro, Metro Director, said: “We set ourselves the toughest targets there are on punctuality but we have given our customers more trains running on time than anywhere else the UK. “Passenger numbers have risen above 40 million for the first time in 16 years as the public respond to excellent reliability, convenience and value Metro offers, with an annual MetroSaver still costing just £425. “We have hit record levels of punctuality, and that’s down to the tremendous hard work of Metro staff across the organisation, to improve the already very good service we offer passengers. “ Office of Rail Regulation data release last week showed Metro was ahead of Chiltern Railways (95%) and Merseyrail (94.7%) during 2007-8. Metro was also ahead of London rail franchises such as Southeastern (90.5%), Southern (89.9%) and South West Trains (92.3%). Comparison with London Underground is not possible as it uses different measures for punctuality, but in terms of number of trains run Metro, at 99.65% is ahead of any of the London Underground lines. Metro punctuality is measured at 17 different points round the 77.5km network, with a train meeting the performance target at each if it arrives within three minutes of its timetable. This compares to punctuality measured only at the point of arrival on national and regional rail services, where trains must arrive within ten and five minutes of timetable respectively.
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