How we're performing
We know arriving at your destination on time is one of the most important things when travelling by train 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 period so you can see how we're performing.
We are working hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.
To help understand the complexity of our network, visit the keeping Northern moving page.
Northern’s ‘30 by 30’ plan
Our 30 by 30 plan is built on customer insight with clear steps to grow rail use by 30 million extra journeys by 2030. This is our commitment to act, invest and improve today.
Find out more
Trust the train
Dive into the details of performance along key routes connecting Leeds, Bradford, Skipton, Ilkley, and Carlisle and see how we’re committed to keeping you on track.
Learn more about these routesLatest performance data
| Measure | What it means | Latest period | Moving annual average (MAA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Time to 3 | The percentage of station stops called at within three minutes of the planned time, for all trains in each reporting period. | 82.02% Historic data
| 78.55% Historic data
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| All stations cancellations | The percentage of recorded planned stations stops cancelled, for all trains in each reporting period. | 2.55% Historic data
| 3.04% Historic data
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| TOC-on-self delay minutes | The total delay minutes attributed to Northern per 1000 train miles in each reporting period. | 16.26% Historic data
| 18.02% Historic data
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| TOC-on-self cancellations | The percentage of our trains scheduled to be operated in the enforcement plan of the day that were cancelled or partially cancelled in each reporting period. | 1.46% Historic data
| 2.03% Historic data
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| Short formations | A measure of the percentage of planned capacity that was actually delivered across all of the Short Formation Passenger Services in each reporting period. | 11.9% Historic data
| 12.0% Historic data
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| Measure | What it means | Latest data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CSAT | Our customer satisfaction score is the percentage of customers 'very' or 'fairly' satisfied with their most recent journey overall as measured by our Post Travel Survey. This data is periodic. | 72.1% Historic data
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| Service Quality | Independent assessment of service quality. | This data is available on our Service Quality page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Customer Complaints | The rate of complaints per 100,000 journeys. | This data is available on the ORR website. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ticket Office Opening | The percentage of scheduled ticket office opening hours for which ticket offices were actually closed, across all stations. This data is periodic. | 3.09% Historic data
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| Ticketless Travel Rate | The percentage of total passenger revenue deemed to be at risk estimated by Ticketless Travel surveys* carried out in that Ticketless Travel survey period associated with passengers travelling without a valid ticket or other valid permission to travel. *carried out in accordance with the Ticketless Travel survey methodology | 3.150% Historic data
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| Ticketless Travel Deemed | The mean average of the ticketless travel rates achieved in the most recent two Ticketless Travel survey periods*. This data is quarterly *A Ticketless Travel survey period is 13 weeks | 3.174% Historic data
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| Measure | What it means | Latest data | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Met by Staff | The percentage of customers who booked assistance at stations who confirm they were met by our staff, as measured by survey responses.* | 88.65% Historic data
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| Assistance Received | The percentage of customers who booked assistance at stations who confirm they received all of the booked assistance, as measured by survey responses.* | 77.84% Historic data
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| Satisfaction | The percentage of customers who booked assistance at stations who report they were satisfied, or very satisfied, with the assistance they received, as measured by survey responses.* | 84.32% Historic data
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*Passenger assist data comes from the MEL Research survey, or successor survey, commissioned by the ORR.
+Q1 and Q2 data for 25/26 is not available due to an issue with the data collected.
| Measure | What it means | Latest period | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traction energy emissions | Total traction emissions per vehicle-km (kg CO2e). | 1.06 Historic data
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| Non-traction energy emissions | Total non-traction energy use (kWh). | 3,918,421.66 Historic data
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| Circular economy | Our performance in reducing waste, increasing recycling rates and diverting waste from landfill:
| 2.8 Historic data
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| Water consumption | Our water consumption in m3 per million passenger km. | 115.85 Historic data
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| Diesel per vehicle-km | How much diesel in litres per vehicle-km our train vehicles using diesel used. | 0.48 Historic data
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You can see how your station is performing by clicking this link.
How are we performing?
We set ourselves high standards of train punctuality and make every effort to get customers to their destination on time. In 2025/26, our target was to ensure 80.3% of trains arrived within 3 minutes of their scheduled arrival time at each station – we achieved 78.6%, which is an improvement of 0.1% on last year.
97.8% of our services arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled calling time at each station.
Of trains which were delayed on arrival*
| Trains experiencing a delay of 30-59 minutes | 0.36% |
| Trains experiencing a delay of 60-119 minutes | 0.04% |
| Trains experiencing a delay of 120 minutes or more | 0.003% (27 in total over the year) |
There are occasions, usually outside of our control, where trains may be delayed or disrupted. In 2025, 3.5%** of our train services were cancelled, which is an improvement of 2.3% on last year.
*This is arrival at destination as industry measures group them together at 30+.
** Calculation using DfT NRC definition of full and part cancellations.
Key activities undertaken last year to improve performance
The delivery of our Performance Improvement Programme saw punctuality and reliability metrics stabilise in Rail Year 26. At the end of P12 2025/26, punctuality improved for the first time in almost a decade, excluding the impact of two exceptional events: May 2018 and COVID. Cancellations was 3.52% down from 5.92% the previous year, demonstrating a considerable improvement year-on-year. Whilst this improvement demonstrates the programme is delivering the expected outcomes, it is recognised that more work needs to be done to drive further improvements and also deliver the conductor reform required to enable an increase in Sunday services.
We have recently outlined our joint commitment to improving performance in the North by creating our Joint Performance Improvement Strategy, which has been endorsed by the Executive Leadership Team at Network Rail, Northern and TransPennine Express. This strategy is the first time the North of England has collectively stated its joint ambition to improve performance together.
Key activities planned to improve performance
Operating Plan
We will implement targeted performance-driven improvements to the timetable alongside existing commitments, including a major re-cast around Manchester in May 2027. This will be supported by investment in timetable optimisation software, along with in-house capabilities to operate the software.
Operational Excellence
We will improve performance in every aspect of operations through three key measures:
- Locally developed and implemented measures targeting our worst-performing services and routes.
- Transforming the structure and capability of Control.
- Ensuring traincrew and station colleagues consistently apply performance-focused standards and processes to operate to the timetable.
Engineering Excellence
We will improve the engineering plan with a focus on stability, engineering excellence, fault management, targeted reliability improvements, supply chain and robust operational management to prepare ourselves for new trains. We’ll invest in a Lean learning academy for our people and digital asset management at our facilities.
Traincrew Strategy
Our traincrew strategy will target traincrew cancellations of no more than 0.5%. Specific target areas include transforming the way we train our people, ensuring we have suitable levels of spare cover, supporting our people with absence, and standardised processes and reporting across traincrew depots.
Traincrew Change & Transformation
We will seek to enable timetable, operational and performance improvements through the reintroduction of a full Sunday timetable.
IT Modernisation
We will replace current life-expired systems with new modern management systems to enable improved timetable efficiency, improved data, reporting accuracy and analysis, and improved customer information.
Customer Satisfaction
We continuously monitor customer satisfaction through our post-journey online survey, to ask customers what they think about the key aspects of their experience, their satisfaction with each stage of the customer journey as well as their experience of interacting with Northern staff.
From April 2025 to March 2026, our overall Customer Experience satisfaction improved from 60.2% in the previous rail year to 67.1%.
Below is the summary of the customer satisfaction results:
| Punctuality of trains | 82% | 5% improvement on previous year |
| Overall delay handling satisfaction | 26% | 6% improvement on previous year |
| Provision of information about train times/ platforms | 84% | 4% improvement on previous year |
| Personal safety/ security whilst using the station | 71% | 3% improvement on previous year |
| Personal safety/ security whilst on the train | 78% | 1% improvement on previous year |
| Cleanliness of the inside of the train | 79% | 1% improvement on previous year |
| Provision of information during the journey | 82% | 2% improvement on previous year |
| Cleanliness and graffiti in stations | 72%* | 17% reduction on previous year |
| Passenger Assistance requests completed | 75%*** | 7% improvement on previous yea |
| Cleanliness and graffiti on trains | 89%* | The same as previous year |
| Train toilet operation (all toilets, including accessible toilets) | 79%* | The same as previous year |
* Service Quality
***Combined- Service Quality Mystery Shopping, Post Travel Survey, Post Contact Customer Experience Centre Survey
In the past 12 months
NTL continue to actively deliver improvements to our customer service, using our customer insight to identify key areas and measure performance improvement.
Improvements this year have included the following:
- Revised our customer service training for new colleagues in all customer-facing areas. This includes alignment to GBR customer service standards, including information during disruption.
- Launched a new Disruption Hub to support customers who are digitally engaged to be informed of both planned and unplanned disruption, along with planned events that may impact services in their local area.
- Revised the format of disruption messaging, improving the content and language used to support both customers and colleagues.
- Implemented a new chatbot functionality, supporting customers through self-help channels, including journey planning, making content easier to access.
Focus for the next 12 months
NTL have defined a new programme aiming to create customer confidence, measured through our internal CSAT measurement tools, with the ambition of reaching 90% CSAT by 2030, achieved through improved performance and key business and industry initiatives.
The Creating Customer Confidence programme is structured around seven key areas:
- Reliability
- Information
- Accessibility
- Customer service
- Standards
- Retention
- Ticketing
Each of the seven areas will have a defined, prioritised programme of work that is aligned to the overall objective, enabling NTL to focus efforts on the areas that are most important to our customers.
Accessible travel
Northern supports customers with accessibility needs. To learn more about the services we offer, please review our accessible travel policy here.
Last year, Northern assisted 205,753 customers to travel on our services.
We use our customer and stakeholder feedback and insight to inform our priorities, captured through our post-travel surveys, Community Rail Partnerships and Accessibility User Group (NAUG).
We play an active role in the Rail Accessibility and Inclusion Forum for the North (RAIFN), which offers a unique opportunity to get service users and train operators from across the North of England in the same room to discuss improvements to Passenger Assist and other accessibility issues. We will continue this engagement into the railway year 2026/27.
Through 2025, as part of the Passenger Assistance Improvement programme, station improvements included;
- Introduction of additional staffing for Passenger Assistance delivery (across the top 10 stations by assistance delivery volume).
- Roll out of the Passenger Assistance app for stations colleagues to enable more proactive management of assistance requests.
- Installation of 31 meeting points and nine boarding points (optional usage), providing clarity for customers where it might be difficult to connect with staff at stations.
- Updating ticket office signage to provide clarity for customers when windows may appear to be closed.
- Provision of enhanced assistance equipment (Staxi wheelchairs) to stations where a need was identified
- Roll out of a mobility scooter awareness campaign across stations.
Focus for the next 12 months
Northern runs an ongoing programme of data-led, continuous improvement activity across accessibility and passenger assistance. Key activities for the rail year 2026/7 include expansion of the mobility scooter permit scheme, installation of additional assistance meeting/boarding points on several lines and utilising passenger assistance-related data to implement targeted initiatives to continue to drive a consistently positive experience for our customers. This will be accompanied by several Access for All schemes, which introduce step-free access to previously inaccessible stations. For more information, please review Northern's Accessible Travel Policy.
Community benefits
During the last rail year, we have proactively worked with community stakeholders, Community Rail Partnerships and Station Adoption Groups to identify and deliver a range of Community Benefit Schemes that repurpose underused station buildings and land to support social value, biodiversity and local need.
Locally delivered schemes include:
- A community garden on formerly unused land at Woodley station.
- A community biodiversity garden at Goostrey.
- The development of unused land at Morpeth station to provide additional customer seating.
- The repurposing of a redundant room at Glazebrook for community use.
- A no-dig community bed at Mauldeth Road.
- Refurbishment of an old phone box at New Lane station for community use.
- Community artwork installed by Rainhill Brownies.
These activities align with similar Community Benefit Schemes highlighted in the Community Rail Report and Social Value Report for 2025, where redundant or underutilised railway assets have been successfully transformed through stakeholder engagement.
Examples include:
- The repurposing of a redundant water tower at Haltwhistle station into a community café and events space.
- The creation of a community-led climate change and biodiversity garden on former railway land at Brighouse.
- Biodiversity enhancement projects on station land at Buxton.
- Heritage apple orchards developed on station land at Thatto Heath and Eccleston Park.
- The reuse of a former engine house at Edge Hill as a cultural and community venue.
Looking ahead, further schemes are being progressed in consultation with stakeholders, including:
- A proposed community café at Alderley Edge.
- The addition of WC facilities at Glazebrook.
- The use of land within the Network Rail lease at Newton-le-Willows for a community garden.
Service Quality performance
| Area | Benchmark 25/26 | PO1 | PO2 | PO3 | PO4 | PO5 | PO6 | PO7 | PO8 | PO9 | P10 | P11 | P12 | P13 | |
| Stations | Ambiance and Assets | N/A | 89.27% | 91.74% | 89.18% | 86.05% | 85.06% | 85.29% | 88.43% | 85.42% | 85.35% | 80.84% | 85.21% | 87.16% | 89.03% |
| Stations | Cleanliness and Graffiti | N/A | 93.97% | 89.88% | 89.96% | 83.12% | 93.13% | 83.62% | 81.31% | 84.75% | 83.95% | 72.68% | 85.66% | 85.50% | 83.39% |
| Stations | Information | N/A | 86.96% | 86.96% | 85.59% | 82.77% | 88.77% | 84.11% | 85.01% | 78.37% | 79.95% | 76.86% | 79.44% | 82.42% | 81.34% |
| Stations | Ticketing and Staffing | N/A | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 94.74% | 97.14% | 96.43% | 97.85% | 96.02% | 100% | 92.74% | 98.04% | 100% |
| Stations | TVM* | N/A | 99.54% | 99.24% | 99.53% | 99.37% | 99.72% | 99.79% | 99.81% | 99.81% | 99.83% | 99.92% | 99.84% | 99.68% | 99.82% |
| Stations | Gate Line Average* | N/A | 94.08% | 97.72% | 98.58% | 97.44% | 99.11% | 98.01% | 96.02% | 94.99% | 96.74% | 99.60% | 97.59% | 85.46% | 91.65% |
| Trains | Ambiance and Assets | N/A | 92.71% | 93.29% | 91.76% | 92.47% | 89.28% | 90.50% | 86.56% | 91.09% | 93.88% | 89.15% | 87.04% | 90.07% | 88.42% |
| Trains | Cleanliness and Graffiti | N/A | 92.89% | 91.51% | 95.58% | 93.71% | 96.50% | 92.39% | 86.34% | 92.45% | 96.90% | 91.32% | 88.28% | 90.28% | 87.69% |
| Trains | Information | N/A | 92.28% | 92.61% | 94.39% | 93.32% | 92.18% | 87.05% | 85.49% | 89.35% | 90.05% | 88.46% | 87.16% | 92.31% | 91.06% |
| Trains | WiFi on board* | N/A | 89.42% | 89.24% | 90.40% | 90.20% | 90.22% | 87.76% | 87.52% | 90.92% | 90.70% | 90.70% | 91.54% | 91.05% | 90.90% |
| Trains | PIS on board* | N/A | 91.38% | 91.63% | 95.27% | 90.28% | 93% | 86.27% | 91.21% | 93.68% | 92.94% | 92.17% | 93.47% | 91.05% | 91.10% |
| Trains | PA on board* | N/A | 96.30% | 96.05% | 96.39% | 96.28% | 96.18% | 95.16% | 95.03% | 96.32% | 96.26% | 96.35% | 96.54% | 96.31% | 96.39% |
*Remote monitoring
Over the past 12 months, our focus has been on collaboratively building with the DfT a new working SQ framework with internal resourcing. Focus has been on customer priority trends we continue to see for Information at stations and trains.
During the next 12 months, our focus will be on:
- Stations: Seating, Information, General Cleanliness
- Trains: Exterior cleanliness, Screens and Information During Disruption
Complaints
At Northern, we take every complaint seriously and investigate, using the findings to support us in improving the services we offer.
- Informing a member of staff at our staffed stations or onboard every train.
- Calling our contact centre on 08002006060.
- Emailing us at [email protected]
Last year, we received 19,465 complaints, of which we responded to 98.2% within 20 days.
Please click here for further details on the reasons for complaints and a summary of the actions we have taken.
Notification of faults
Customers can inform us if they experience a fault at our stations or on our trains, using the following methods:
- Informing a member of staff at our staffed stations or onboard every train.
- Calling our contact centre on 08002006060.
- Emailing us at [email protected]
In the last rail year, Northern was notified of 449 faults, of which 57 related to stations and 392 related to our trains. The mean average of notified faults per period was 34.5 and the mean average time taken to resolve was 19.9 days
Ticketless travel
Last year, NTL couldn’t achieve the target of 2.92%, as we had to adapt our Revenue Protection policies several times during the year in response to the ORR Report on Revenue Protection, which weakened our ability to drive improvements. Despite this, we were successfully able to manage Ticketless Travel and end the year in line with where we began.
With the Fares and Ticketing Reform Programme on Revenue Protection now underway, formalising the industry’s response to the ORR Report, we expect to deliver improvements as the outputs of that work are realised and drive a reduction in Ticketless Travel in the coming 12 months.
Ticket office opening hours
Northern is responsible for 151 staffed ticket offices. You can find more details about the stations and their opening hours here. Last year, Northern had a 95.11% adherence to our published opening hours.
You can download the customer report as a Word document by clicking the link below:
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