Train reliability in Britain reached the worst level on record after another month of disruption.

The industry’s cancellations score during the 12 months to October 15 was 3.8 per cent, according to Office of Rail and Road data.

That was the poorest reliability in records dating back to 2015.

Govia Thameslink Railway – which includes Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express – had the second poorest reliability in the past 12 months, with a score of 6.4 per cent.

The figures do not include trains removed from timetables before 10pm on the previous night, which is what happens ahead of strike days.

The Argus:

“Unfortunately, the legacy impacts of Covid and short-term sickness have particularly affected our performance over the past year," said Angie Doll, chief operating officer at Govia Thameslink Railway.

"While the picture is improving, we know cancellations are very frustrating for passengers and that we have more work to do.

"We have an action plan in place, which has helped us improve performance more recently and we continue to work closely with partners such as Network Rail to improve reliability for our customers.”

The worst individual operator for the 12 months to October was Avanti West Coast, with its highest ever score of 7.7 per cent.

It was affected by short-notice cancellations due to drivers refusing to volunteer for overtime shifts and has introduced a reduced timetable.

The Department for Transport (DfT) gave the company until April 1 next year to improve its services when it issued a short-term contract extension last month.

The Argus:

Norman Baker, from the pressure group Campaign for Better Transport, said: “We want people to travel by train so cancellations on this scale are unacceptable.

“The Government and industry need to sort this out and ensure services run to schedule so that passengers can travel with confidence.”

A spokeswoman for the DfT said: “It’s unacceptable that poor levels of service are preventing hardworking people from going about their daily lives.

“We have earmarked more than £16 billion to improve passenger services since the start of the pandemic and are working closely with train operators to ensure long-term solutions are put in place so passengers can travel confidently without disruption.”