West Coast Main Line: Standards
(asked on 16th July 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times trains have been delayed or cancelled on the West Coast Main Line due to livestock being on the line in 2021-2022, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26.
The Department does not hold data on delays and cancellations caused by livestock on the West Coast Main Line, as Network Rail records such incidents at a regional level. The closest available data is for Network Rail's North West and Central region, which includes the West Coast Main Line.
The number of livestock-related incidents, associated delay minutes and cancellations recorded in the North West and Central region were:
Financial Year | Incident Count | Delay Minutes | Cancellations |
2021/22 | 238 | 10,615 | 146 |
2022/23 | 206 | 12,955 | 170 |
2023/24 | 353 | 29,133 | 103 |
2024/25 | 342 | 30,332 | 287 |
2025/26 | 485 | 43,663 | 305 |