On Time Trains: A Platform for UK Rail Accountability

In 2016, a tech enthusiast in his thirties conceived a significant idea, prompted by a frustrating experience of waiting for a delayed train on a cold station platform. This moment of widespread inconvenience inspired his vision for a more effective online platform, designed to influence news narratives and prompt parliamentary inquiries. Mark Wherity frequently experienced delays at railway stations. This recurring issue prompted him to question the regularity of such inconveniences, yet he lacked a simple method to ascertain this. He recounts an instance where he used his smartphone to “just had a look to see whether there was an answer to that question”. Wherity stated, “I looked around websites and I found a few that showed the departure times or arrival times of recent trains, but there was nothing that showed how is my station [performing] or how is this particular journey.” Subsequently, the 37-year-old IT professional from Hertfordshire developed On Time Trains (OTT). This complimentary website extracts data from National Rail systems to offer insights into train service punctuality and cancellations, a functionality absent from official platforms. Recent data from OTT indicated that Manchester Victoria recorded the highest cancellation rate among Britain’s 100 busiest stations, with approximately one in ten scheduled services cancelled between January and November. Northern, the operator of Manchester Victoria, stated its diligent efforts to resolve train crew availability problems and enhance service reliability. Northern also reported that a rest day working agreement had been finalized with drivers. The company affirmed its commitment to ongoing collaboration with the RMT union to identify a “new way forward”, following conductors’ recent rejection of a proposal concerning Sunday shifts. The RMT union confirmed it was pursuing additional discussions with Northern. The station view feature of OTT enables users to ascertain their station’s ranking relative to other British stations, providing comprehensive data on typical train delays and an overall performance score. Mark stated, “My focus was shining a light on a space that I felt was underrepresented.” He added, “I think it [OTT] gives people licence to grumble when their train is late because their station is terrible and so they’re right to complain, versus a station which is very highly ranked.” Illustrating its utility, he explained that for a regular commute, such as an 8 am train, the journey view allows for quick comparison with preceding and succeeding services. He noted, “You might find another train that runs 10 minutes before is much more reliable.” Mark dedicated a year to developing OTT, during which numerous prototypes were tested and feedback was gathered to optimize data presentation. Since its launch in February 2017, OTT has served as a data source for various media outlets, including the BBC, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4 documentaries. Furthermore, the platform has been cited in evidence submissions to the Transport Select Committee and within Hansard, the official record of parliamentary proceedings. Mark expressed his satisfaction, stating, “It’s come a really long way, so I’m really pleased with how it’s progressed.” He added, “It’s fantastic… I never would have expected that the site would have been referenced this widely when I first built it.” Among the approximately 300,000 annual visitors to the site, a significant number utilize the Delay Repay page, which facilitates compensation claims for delayed trains under the national Delay Repay scheme. Travelers experiencing delays on any participating National Rail service are eligible to claim compensation, although the specific thresholds vary among different train operators. The platform displays both scheduled and actual delayed arrival times for past journeys, indicating whether a user could have reached their destination within the specified delay threshold (e.g., under 15 minutes late) by opting for an alternative service. Adam, a 48-year-old from Cambridgeshire, commutes to central London multiple times weekly. He observed, “Quite frequently, trains are delayed or cancelled.” He elaborated, “At the time it’s just a question of trying to get home as quickly as possible – not standing around on cold platforms for trains not to arrive.” Adam stated that On Time Trains has simplified his process for claiming Delay Repay compensation, resulting in approximately £500 in refunds since May 2023. He remarked, “My daily commute is £47 – as a proportion of that, that’s quite a chunk of money.” Mark noted that the website assists users in circumventing much of the “back and forth” typically associated with compensation claims. He illustrated, “[People] tell the operator how late it was, fill in the form, the operator will come back and say, ‘You weren’t, you were six minutes late rather than five minutes late’.” The site also offers the annual London Commuter Station Rankings, a feature beneficial for London commuters that identifies theoretically optimal stations for commuting. This ranking evaluates 30 significant stations located beyond the M25 motorway, each within an hour’s travel of London and recording over a million pre-pandemic annual passenger journeys. Stations are scored based on their performance, service frequency, speed, and value. Criteria for evaluation include punctuality and absence of cancellations, regularity of services during peak hours, travel speed, and cost per mile. Mark further explained, “You could have a route where the trains are really expensive but very punctual… similarly, if there’s another station over here where trains are similarly punctual, but almost half the price.” In the previous year, Chelmsford, Essex, secured the top position, with 88% of its commuter services operating punctually and only 1% experiencing cancellations. Due to an increase in morning peak services compared to the prior year, passengers faced an average wait time of merely 8 minutes for journeys to and from London Liverpool Street.