UK’s worst prepare station is in Bolton… the place does your native rank?
Britain’s worst-performing railway station was today revealed as Kearsley, where 82 per cent of trains have been delayed or cancelled over the past month.
The unmanned stop serving the town near Bolton in Greater Manchester with Northern Rail trains came bottom out of 2,625 stations for the four weeks to date.
Out of 834 services in that period, Ontimetrains said just 17 per cent were on time, 43 per cent were one to four minutes late, 14 per cent were five to nine minutes late, 5 per cent were ten or more minutes late and 20 per cent were cancelled.
The station opened in 1838 and is on the line between Stalybridge and Southport, with direct services to locations including Manchester, Bolton, Wigan and Salford.
But even this morning, the 7.31am Northern train to Stalybridge and the 9.23am to Southport were both cancelled ‘because of a short-notice change to the timetable’.
Britain’s worst-performing railway station was today revealed as Kearsley in Greater Manchester, where 82 per cent of trains have been delayed or cancelled over the past month
Kearsley station opened in 1838 and is on the line between Stalybridge and Southport, with direct services to locations including Manchester, Bolton, Wigan and Salford
Even this morning at Kearsley station, the 7.31am Northern train to Stalybridge and the 9.23am to Southport were both cancelled ‘because of a short-notice change to the timetable’
The data from Ontimetrains also put Taynuilt and Crianlarich, both village stations on the ScotRail network, in second and third place respectively for the next worst.
In fourth was Moses Gate and in fifth Bescar Lane, which are on the same line as Kearsley – while sixth went to Penrith on the West Coast Main Line in Cumbria.
Farnworth, the next station along from Kearsley, was in seventh – while New Lane near Southport was in eight. The ScotRail station of Connel Ferry was ninth, with Ince and Elton near Chester in tenth.
Out of the top 100 busiest stations, hubs in Manchester made up three of the top four worst performing – those being Oxford Road in first, Piccadilly third and Victoria fourth. Preston was second.
Also in the top ten worst were City Thameslink in London in fifth, Birmingham New Street in sixth, Coventry in seventh, York in eighth, Bath Spa in ninth and Leicester in tenth.
Debbie Newall, Labour councillor for Kearsley ward, told the Bolton News: ‘I’m very disappointed. We’ve campaigned for a long time to get a better service.
‘They have surprised me those figures, but then again, the service hasn’t been right for a long, long time.
‘So, it’s just something we’ll carry on campaigning to improve, it’s something I will take up with their executive so we can get a better service.’
And a Northern Rail spokesman said: ‘Recently, our performance and reliability have not been up to scratch and for that we are sorry.
‘We are very actively managing higher levels of staff sickness, and on Sundays, which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours, we have seen a reduction in train crew making themselves available on parts of the network.
2) Taynuilt station in Scotland is ranked second worst for punctuality over the past four weeks
3) Crianlarich, another village station on the ScotRail network, is ranked in third place
‘In addition, the ongoing industrial relations issues have their own impact. We are working hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.’
The best performing station in Britain over the past four weeks was Barons Court on the London Underground, followed by ScotRail stations Cameron Bridge and Leven in second and third respectively. Paddington Underground station was fourth.
When looking at the 100 busiest stations, the best performing were all in the London area – Tottenham Hale, Upminster, Stansted Airport, Barking and Fenchurch Street.
It comes after Parliament was told last month that rail staff have taken to hiding from the travelling public because they are so ‘ashamed’ of the service being offered.
4) In fourth place was Moses Gate, which is on the same line in the North West as Kearsley
5) Bescar Lane, which are on the same line as Kearsley, was fifth worst in the rankings
6) The sixth worst performing station was Penrith on the West Coast Main Line in Cumbria
The House of Lords also heard seasoned train managers were ‘absolutely terrified’ of going to work because they do not know if they will be properly stocked or if the equipment will work, leaving them to face abuse from angry passengers.
The poor performance of train services and problems on the network was highlighted during a transport debate in the upper chamber on April 25.
It coincided with Labour unveiling flagship plans to renationalise the railways if the party wins the upcoming general election, which was called last week for July 4.
Regulated rail fares – which include season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance routes and flexible tickets for travel around major cities – increased by up to 4.9 per cent in England on March 3.
