Railways: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what route-by-route performance data the Department holds on short-formed passenger rail services across all operators; what assessment has been made of the impact of short formation on passenger overcrowding, cancellations and fare-paying passengers; and whether Ministers have received advice identifying routes presenting the greatest operational risk.
Answered by Keir Mather
Department for Transport Operator (DFTO) typically monitors levels of short formations at an operator level every four weeks and therefore is not able to provide data for each route.
DFTO expects operators to provide appropriate capacity in response to expected demand, particularly during peak periods, and to minimise short formations wherever possible, only using them where this is judged to be in passengers' overall interests and helps maintain wider service delivery. DFTO holds operators to account for short-formed services.
The Department for Transport publishes annual national statistics on rail passenger numbers arriving into selected major cities during peak-times in England and Wales, which includes information on crowding. The most recent release can be found here: Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales - GOV.UK
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