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Commenting on the shadow Strategic Rail Authority's monthly Performance Report published today, ATOC Director General George Muir said: "The industry is disappointed following the good progress it made last year in reversing the declining punctuality trend.
"Over the past year, train operators have increased the passenger kilometres by 1.6bn, an extra 257 trains a day. This has increased the level of congestion to such an extent that no more trains can run on key parts of the network during peak time.
"Train operations in Scotland and England's north east were plagued by floods and severe weather conditions in April and June. The delayed arrival of new trains has led to train companies assembling engineering hit squads to improve the reliability of old rolling stock. However, simply maintaining an increasingly ageing fleet will not make it possible to provide three million passenger journeys a day to the standard they want.
"The need for new investment is therefore vital and we are optimistic that the 10 Year Transport Plan will deliver the investment needed to accommodate passenger growth and more train services."
ENDS
For more information call the ATOC Press Office on 020 7904 3010
