Performance
With long sections of single line and limited passing points, minor disruptions on the Cambrian Line quickly lead to compound delays and partial cancellations. This, combined with short turnaround times for rolling stock at each end of the route, led to severe punctuality problems during much of the first decade of the 2000s. The late 2008 extension of the service to Birmingham International has helped address this by eliminating the tight turnarounds at the heavily-congested Birmingham New Street station. Maintenance changes and additional padding in public timetables has also helped improve performance figures overall.
In Arriva Trains Wales' performance statistics the Cambrian Line was routinely the worst-performing service group between 2003 and 2008. Since early 2009, recorded timekeeping has improved - a considerable achievement, considering that the route has been the testing ground for brand new signalling technology previously unused on the British railway network.
| Service Group | Punctuality 12 months to 13 Oct 2007 | Punctuality 12 months to 4 Feb 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Cambrian | 88.2% | 90.8% |
| Marches | 93.7% | 94.8% |
| Wales-England | 95.8% | 97.3% |
| South, West, Central Wales | 94.0% | 96.4% |
| Valley Lines | 95.1% | 97.3% |
| North Wales Inter Urban | 97.7% | 98.0% |
| North Wales Rural | 92.3% | 94.9% |
Read more about this topic: Cambrian Line
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