Staff shortages blamed for joint worst rail record

MORE than 360,000 trains were fully or partly cancelled in the past year as reliability hit a joint record low amid staff shortages.

- Neil Lancefield

Some 208,000 services were fully axed in the year to November 9 and a further 161,000 did not serve at least one of their scheduled stops, the Office of Rail and Road said.

Industry expert Tony Miles called the situation a "ticking timebomb", saying cancellation figures will probably get worse as drivers are retiring faster than they are being recruited.

The data shows the equivalent of 4% of the 7.3 million trains planned in that period were cancelled the joint worst in figures dating back to 2015, when the annual score was just 1.9%.