Standing on a cold, draughty platform, watching the clock and checking the screens, all the time wondering “why isn’t my train here?” Is it delayed? Or worse, is it cancelled entirely ? This a frustration too many of us can relate to. There is nothing worse than booking a train to enjoy a day out, get to work, travel to the airport or attend an event such as a wedding, and then finding your train is delayed, but unfortunately, it happens all too often. Train delays in the UK are a constant headache and sadly, we are often left with no clear information or realistic alternative transportation. But why does it happen so often?

Why are trains delayed or cancelled?

There are a few reasons that trains are delayed or cancelled regularly, these include:

Ageing Infrastructure

Unfortunately, the UK hasn’t invested enough money in the infrastructure of the railway system. Much of the UK rail system we use today is years, even decades old, from the tracks, to the tunnels and even the bridges. All of this infrastructure requires constant maintenance, just to keep it in working conditions, but even with this maintenance, faults can still occur. When the infrastructure sees a fault, especially if it is in or around a busy junction, it has the potential to bring large parts of the network to a complete halt.

Congestion

The UK has one of the most crowded rail networks in Europe. When you look at the train timetable of just one route, you’ll likely see trains arrive every few minutes, from early in the morning, to late in the evening. When one train is delayed this has a domino effect, causing delays to other trains across the entire route, there is limited room to recover this lost time.

Staff Shortages & Strikes

As well as staff shortages, cause by not enough staff members being hired, as well as sickness and holidays, we also see industrial action by rail workers. When drivers, signalling staff or any other rail workers decide to go on strike, hundreds of services can be impacted, or even cancelled, in just one day.

Weather Disruption

The weather can also be to blame for train disruptions and cancellations. Wet and windy weather, snow, or even thunderstorms, can cause flooding on the line, fallen trees or leaves on the line, among a range of other problems. These can all cause delays (or even cancellations) to a service, particularly when the railway is old.

Signalling & Technical Failures

As we mentioned, the infrastructure of the railway network is old and outdated, this is also true of the signalling systems, which are prone to faults. If there is a signalling failure, the trains on that network aren’t able to operate safely, which means the trains will be delayed or even cancelled, until an engineer has been able to resolve the signalling problem. This could take several hours.

Timetabling Issues

As you’ve seen, there are a few things that can cause delays and cancellations, the problem with this is furtherer by the timetabling of trains. When trains are scheduled to run within minutes of each other, on the same line, one late train can cause delays to the entire timetable for the remainder of that day, as there is no margin for recovery.

Train Faults

Sometimes a train is forced to stop during its journey due to mechanical issues, such as engine failures, or a broken door, for example. When trains are forced to stop on the line like this, they block the network and every train also running on the same line, is therefore delayed until the problem has been fixed and the train has been moved.

Passenger-Related Incidents

As well as faults on the train itself, there are also delays caused by the passengers of the train. Problems such as a passenger having a medical issue, overcrowding, passengers pulling the emergency cord, or even people (or animals) on the track, can all cause delays to a train, which then in turn can delay other trains. Frustratingly, these delays are often unpredictable and can last long period of time, depending on the incident.

A Smarter Alternative: Reliable Minibus & Coach Hire

Of course, you could just put up with these delays, grin and bear it. OR, you can use a smarter alternative.
If you need to be somewhere by a specific time (whether it’s the airport, a big event, or a day out with friends), it makes more sense to use a more reliable method of transportation than to take a gamble on unreliable train services.

That’s where our minibus hire services come in.
Our modern and comfortable minibuses and coaches are:
​•​Punctual and flexible to your schedule
​•​Perfect for group trips, airport transfers, and events
​•​Driven by professionals who plan routes with reliability in mind
Say goodbye and good riddance to platform anxiety. Say hello to a smoother, stress-free journey.

Book your reliable, professional minibus or coach today and travel on your terms.