Cancelled train causes packed waiting room and wait times of over one hour

By Emily Barker

With the upcoming General Election this Thursday (DEC12), UK citizens are heavily researching what political party to vote for on what issues affect them most; one of these being public transport.

There have been a number of reports on social media about train disruptions, delays and cancellations over the last few weeks all targeted at major train operators.

CrossCountry Trains operate intercity services and other long-distance trains across the country, including Leicester station.

On Saturday, November 30, a 20.18 train service from Leicester to Stansted Airport was cancelled at 19.27, less than an hour before its scheduled departure.

A spokesperson for the CrossCountry company, said: “The 20.18 service from Leicester to Stansted Airport was cancelled due to a shortage of train conductors, but we are not affected by any industrial action [strikes].

“The train was cancelled between Birmingham New Street and Cambridge.

“The cancellation was made at 19.27.”

The cancellation of this service left lots of angry passengers sat waiting on the floor of the waiting room with over an hour for the next train.

Official statistics of the Office of Rail and Road were published on December 5 comparing the times of trains from this time the previous year.

Trains that were “On Time” increased by 3.3% to 65.1%, the “Public Performance Measure (PPM)” increased by 1.4% to 87.3%, and interestingly the “Cancellations Score” decreased by 0.2% to just 2.8%, showing that fewer trains were actually cancelled this year compared to last year.

On Time means early or less than one minute after the scheduled time, and PPM means that the trains were punctual (early or less than five to 10 minutes after the scheduled arrival time) at their final destination.

If you have been delayed by a CrossCountry train service, you can use their Delay Repay Scheme to get some compensation for your delayed or cancelled service here.