Landslip and strikes blamed for late trains

West Midlands Railway introduced its new timetable bringing in more services on Tuesday

Two-thirds of trains through Telford were either late or cancelled during the past three months, according to new data.

Only 34% of trains at Telford Central were on time, with 10% late by at least 10 minutes, according to industry data collated by On Time Trains.

The station, which sees 2,427 passengers travel through per day, was ranked 2,492nd out of 2,634, with a performance score of 70%.

West Midlands Railway said services had been significantly impacted by industrial action and a major landslip.

Data from the website shows how often trains in the region were on time as well as their overall performance score based on service punctuality and cancellation frequency.

A total of 23% of trains in Telford during the past 12 weeks were late by between one and two minutes, 11% by three to four minutes, and 12% by five to nine minutes. 

Up to 11% of trains were cancelled, the data showed.

Nearby Wellington was ranked 2,358th, with only 47% of trains arriving on time during the same period, while Oakengates was 1,923rd.

Shrewsbury, meanwhile, was 2,307th, and Wolverhampton 2,432nd.

A West Midlands Railway spokesperson said: “Running a reliable service is our top priority and we are committed to working with partners in the industry to improve performance on the Shrewsbury line.

“In recent months, services at Telford have been significantly impacted by industrial action and a major landslip resulting in the total closure of the line.

"We hope agreement can be reached at a national level to resolve the industrial dispute and we share the frustration of our passengers at the impact the action is having."

Through its new timetable, the number of services at Telford had been doubled, along with a new fleet to increase capacity, the operator added.

Last month rail operators warned of major disruption in the region as part of a long-running dispute with train drivers union Aslef.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.