The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Claire Perry)
I would like to inform the House that a statement I made on 29 October 2014 during an Adjournment debate on South West Trains, Official Report, column 106WH, was incorrect. During the speech I stated that:
“We are seeing the most rapid rise in travel of anywhere in Europe. We have the safest and most punctual railways in Europe. We have the most improved railways in Europe, according to passengers. We are seeing an enormous rise in demand for these services...”
While we do have the safest major railway in Europe, as well as the most improved railway in Europe according to the European Commission, the statement on punctuality cannot be substantiated. While we do not have comparable statistics that show how our railway is currently ranked for punctuality, we can say that UK rail passengers are among the most satisfied in Europe with train punctuality and reliability.