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Franchising Director John O'Brien today called on some train operators to dramatically improve on the current unsatisfactory performance evident on parts of the network. Commenting on disappointing figures for the year ending 31 March 1998 published by OPRAF, he said:
"Passengers have a right to expect performance to improve year on year. Instead, punctuality generally, although still better than in 1995/96, has slipped back from the improvements achieved during 1996/97. There are signs that this decline may have been arrested during the latter part of the year, and I note that some operators have managed to maintain improving performance year on year, against the trend. I now urge the industry to work together to bring about sustained improvement for passengers across the whole network.
"On a more positive note, I am pleased to see the continued growth in the number of passengers using the rail network. Individual operators are responding to increasing demand by introducing new and more frequent services, many of which will come on stream with the May timetable change. I am looking to the industry collectively to ensure that demand is met while at the same time operating performance is improved."
