ONLY four in ten trains operated by Crosscountry, which run through Oxfordshire, were on time last year, making them the worst in the country.

New figures released by Network Rail have revealed that Crosscountry was also ranked the second-worst operator in England and Wales for cancellation and what’s deemed “significant lateness”. Figures showed 5.2 per cent of its trains were cancelled at origin or en route or were diverted or arrived 30 minutes late or more.

And based on the percentage of services that arrive within a minute of their scheduled time, the figures showed Chiltern Railways, which run through Oxfordshire, was the most punctual company, with 85.2 per cent of trains arriving on time.

Sixty-six per cent of First Great Western trains hit their punctuality target, just above the national average of 65.1 per cent.

Our top stories

Chiltern Railways came joint second in this category along with London Overground, Merseyrail and Northern Rail which all had 1.8 per cent of trains that were cancelled or significantly late.

First Great Western’s figure was 3.6 per cent, 0.4 per centage points higher than the England and Wales average.

Operations and safety director at Chiltern Railways Andrew Munden said: “These results reinforce our commitment to providing a punctual service on which our passengers can rely.”

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.