Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the punctuality of (a) Avanti West Coast, (b) CrossCountry and (c) West Midlands Railway.

Punctuality (percentage of station calls made within three minutes of schedule) for these three operators were as follows in the most recent rail period 3 (25 May to 21 June):

1. Avanti West Coast – 60.1 per cent period 3, 59.1 per cent moving annual average;

2. CrossCountry – 66.9 per cent period 3, 69.0 per cent moving annual average, and;

3. West Midlands Trains – 84.1 per cent period 3, 82.9 per cent moving annual average, which includes the West Midlands Railway 86.3 per cent period 3 result.

We recognise performance is not where it needs to be for passengers, particularly for Avanti West Coast and CrossCountry which are consistently among the least punctual operators. Officials and Ministers have regular engagement with operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards. We are also working with the rail industry on a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and keeping trains safely moving during disruptive events.