UK 
United States
Most Britons won’t need rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, to tell them that the UK’s railways network is sill not delivering consistently punctual and reliable journeys. Our crumbling Victorian-era infrastructure contributes to just 70% of trains being on-time, while average cancellations run at a level of around 3.5%.
So bad are some services [more than 10% of CrossCountry trains got cancelled between October-December 2024), that earlier this year, the government announced it would ‘name and shame’ the worst offenders on boards at stations. Some of the very worst operators were even taken over, to be state-run.
Alex South
Senior HR & Operations Executive, Southeastern
Frustratingly for passengers though, all of this comes against a backdrop of train unions themselves wanting their staff to work even fewer hours each week (for the same pay) – a demand that many find hard to swallow.
But while passengers may denounce demands for shorting working weeks, one thing is certain: the rail industry has a very real and very damaging mental health problem.
