Skip to main content
Customer Information - 
Industrial action 1-9 December
Looking for something?

How we're performing

We know arriving at your destination on time is one of the most important things when travelling by train and here at Northern, we do everything we can to keep trains running on time. Unfortunately, delays do happen many of which are out of our control. 

To ensure we remain transparent as a train operating company, we publish our performance figures for each railway reporting period so you can see how we're performing. 

Recent performance

Recently, our performance and reliability have not been up to scratch and for that we are sorry.

We are very actively managing higher levels of staff sickness, and on Sundays, which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours, we have seen a reduction in drivers making themselves available on parts of the network. In addition, the ongoing industrial relations issues have their own impact.

We are working hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.

To help understand the complexity of our network, visit our Keeping NORTHERN moving page.

Latest performance data

Northern services operated

Services in the timetableServices removed from the plan by NorthernServices plannedServices operated on the day
66,778.52,105.564,67358,814

‘Services removed from the plan’ (also known in the industry as P-coding) are planned changes to a timetable that can be made up to 10 pm the day before departure. They are used by the industry for a wide range of reasons including engineering works, strikes, shortage of traincrew and expectational circumstances like derailments that block routes for several days.

Northern network performance

Short formedAll cancellationsOn-timeTime to 3Time to 15
2,441
(4.1%)
4,914
(7.6%)
50%72.4%96.7%

Service groupShort formedAll cancellationsOn-timeTime to 3Time to 1530-5960-119120+
Tyne, Tees & Wear

88

2.1%

438.5

9.2%

52.5%73.0%95.6%

35

0.7%

6

0.1%

0

0%

Lancashire & Cumbria Local

85

2.1%

418

8.9%

58.0%78.3%97.3%

12

0.3%

2

0%

0

0%

West & North Yorkshire Inter Urban

649

7.3%

844.5

8.5%

36.7%60.4%94.8%

98

1.0%

8

0.1%

0

0%

West & North Yorkshire Local

313

2.9%

845

7.3%

50.5%74.9%97.9%

32

0.3%

2

0%

0

0%

South & East Yorkshire Inter Urban

62

1.4%

613.5

12.2%

54.5%75.2%97.4%

18

0.4%

4

0.1%

0

0%

South & East Yorkshire

216

6.1%

618.5

14.6%

56.4%76.8%96.4%

30

0.7%

2

0%

0

0%

North Manchester

359

7.9%

245

5.0%

53.8%74.2%97.3%

19

0.4%

1

0%

1

0%

Merseyrail City Lines

83

3.0%

149

5.3%

38.7%62.8%95.4%

20

0.7%

1

0%

0

0%

South Manchester

286

2.8%

365.5

3.3%

54.3%78.4%98.2%

33

0.3%

3

0%

0

0%

Lancashire & Cumbria Inter Urban

300

7.1%

376

6.7%

51.6%72.6%96.3%

25

0.4%

1

0%

0

0%

Unfortunately, things don't always go to plan. The following incidents caused significant delay and cancellations:

20 OctoberFlooding - Kirsktall Forge
20 OctoberFlooding - Harrogate
20 OctoberTree on the line - Prudhoe
20 OctoberFlooding - Rotherham Central
20 OctoberFlooding - Kiveton Bridge

The above incidents had a combined impact of 729 cancellations and 2,889 minutes delay which resulted in disruption to 926 Northern services.

Short Formed - Services run with less than the planned capacity

All cancellations - Services subject to cancellation (full/part)

On Time - Percentage of Recorded Station Stops called at on time or early

Time to 3 - Percentage of Recorded Station Stops called at within 3 minutes of the planned time

Time to 15 - Percentage of Recorded Station Stops called at within 15 minutes of the planned time

30-59 - Services arriving at the planned destination between 30 minutes and 59 minutes late

60-119 - Services arriving at the planned destination between 60 minutes and 119 minutes late

120+ - Services arriving at the planned destination more than 119 minutes late

Customer Promise P2408

Customer Promise P2408

On Time Graph P2408

On Time Graph P2408

Northern App

Streamline your journey and get tickets straight to your phone. Making your journey contact-free.

Northern App

Streamline your journey and get tickets straight to your phone. Making your journey contact-free.