Britain’s railways lag behind Europe

Published on Monday 6 February 2012 00:00

Britain’s railways are bottom of the league for fares, efficiency and comfort compared with other European countries, according to a union-commissioned study.

The report, by think-tank Just Economics, said UK trains were less affordable, less comfortable, slower and more expensive than in other European countries.

The frequency of trains was the only area in which the UK performed better than France, Germany, Spain and Italy, according to the research.

“In terms of bang for buck, not only does the UK come bottom of the index of outcomes but it also spends a relatively large amount of money to achieve this woeful result.”

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies said: “This doesn’t come close to giving the full story about rail travel.”

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samcoldstream

Monday, February 6, 2012 at 09:14 PM

According to National Rail Enquiries, today, and yesterday, there were over 200 train cancellations and delays due to the severe winter weather affecting the South-East of England. According to the South-East Rail Network, electric train services were badly affected.

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freeesian

Monday, February 6, 2012 at 01:05 PM

The think tank has obviously never taken a train in Greece or Turkey

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