Grand Central named 'second-least reliable' train operator in Britain with 79 days lost to cancellations and delays

Passengers experienced delays amounting to 114,069 minutes or 79 days between January 2021 and September 2023.

Grand Central runs daily services between Sunderland and London calling at Hartlepool and other stations on the East Coast mainline including York.

It also operates services in West Yorkshire.

Data from the Office of Rail and Road analysed by travel deal site Tripplo found that 12.32% of all Grand Central trains were cancelled or delayed by 15 minutes or more during the time period.

It put the operator second in a league table of delays behind Avanti West Coast which saw more than 15% of its services either cancelled or delayed by a at least a quarter of an hour.

Axel Hernborg of Tripplo said: “Across the nation, there's a noticeable variation in performance, with some operators, such as Avanti West Coast, consistently under performing.

"This variability in findings perhaps highlights the complexity of maintaining a cohesive rail network while emphasising the necessity for ongoing evaluation, strategic planning, and investment to bolster reliability standards and enhance the overall passenger experience.”

Grand Central’s chief operating officer Sean English said the number of cancellations have fallen since due to its efforts.

He said: “The Grand Central team has been working hard to overcome the performance challenges our customers experienced during 2023, by investing in our fleet at the same time as securing leases for additional trains.

"While there is still more to do, I’m pleased to say that this has already had a real positive impact on our service reliability and that the number of cancellations, especially late notice cancellations, is significantly reduced, as demonstrated by the most recent industry performance figures.”

Grand Central has also said it expects the opening of Hartlepool’s disused platform to help improve punctuality.

The southbound platform, which has been unused for more than 30 years, is due to open soon after a £12million upgrade including a new foot bridge and lift.

In the shorter term, no Northern services will run in Hartlepool on Thursday, May 9, in the latest industrial action by the train drivers union ASLEF.

Passengers are advised to check before they travel for all journeys between Monday 6 and Saturday 11 May.