Sheffield rail commuters have fourth worst odds of morning delays

Sheffield commuters have the fourth worst odds of being affected by morning delays, according to new research,

Using 11 weeks of real-time open rail data between September and November this year, Fasteroute and the Open Data Institute analysed the punctuality performance of morning train arrivals across 16 major cities in Britain.

The research found that Sheffield has the fourth worst odds for commuters arriving on time between 7am and 10am, below Birmingham, Manchester and York.

On average, every two in five train services arrive late into Sheffield’s main station between 7am and 10am.

The research claims this alone causes more than 11 hours of delays on average a year – equivalent to almost two working days.

Jeni Tennison, Deputy CEO at ODI, said: “Train delays are inevitable, and our existing rail infrastructure routinely runs at capacity.

“While city planners develop transport services for a growing population, the Fasteroute team has demonstrated how historical analysis of real-time open data could bring about more efficient commuting and a more even demand on current train services.

“Bringing this open data closer to the public will inform their daily decision-making, and can in turn, reduce overall delays of services already in operation.”

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: “Train operators and Network Rail are working hard together every day to deliver a better, more punctual railway and to give people better information when things do go wrong.

“The rail industry has cut the number of incidents causing delays every year, but a busier network means that incidents can have a greater knock-on effect.”