How British train punctuality is measured — PPM, right-time, and Delay Repay

The rail industry says roughly 87% of trains are "on time." Don't believe them — or at least, don't believe that number means what you think it means. "On time" under the Public Performance Measure (PPM) allows a 5-minute grace window at the final destination for commuter services, and 10 minutes for long-distance services. It measures only the final stop, not your stop. A train can leave Birmingham 20 minutes late, roll into London 4 minutes late, and count as "on time" — even if you got off at Coventry and were 20 minutes late for your meeting. The answer depends on which metric you use — and the differences directly affect your Delay Repay claim.

---

Public Performance Measure (PPM)

PPM is the headline punctuality metric used by Network Rail and the Department for Transport. It is reported every 4 weeks and published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

How PPM works

A train counts as "on time" under PPM if it arrives at its final destination within the allowed window:

Service type	Grace window	Example
London & South East	5 minutes	Arriving at 08:35 for a scheduled 08:30
Regional	5 minutes	Arriving at 14:05 for a scheduled 14:00
Scottish	5 minutes	Arriving at 19:05 for a scheduled 19:00
Long-distance	10 minutes	Arriving at 11:10 for a scheduled 11:00

PPM is calculated as:

(On-time services ÷ All planned services) × 100

A cancelled or part-cancelled train counts as a failure, regardless of the reason.

Current PPM (2024–25 average): approximately 87% across all operators.

What PPM hides

PPM measures only the final destination — not intermediate stops. A train that leaves Birmingham 15 minutes late but makes up time before reaching London counts as "on time" under PPM, even though passengers at Coventry and Milton Keynes experienced a 15-minute delay.

This is the key difference between PPM and what matters for your Delay Repay claim. For a practical guide to claiming, see how to claim Delay Repay.

---

Right-time performance

The "right-time" standard is stricter and increasingly used as the industry's internal metric:

A train is right-time only if it arrives at every timetabled stop within 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival time.

PPM vs Right-time

Metric	What it measures	Typical score
PPM	Final destination within 5/10 min	~87%
Right-time	Every stop within 59 seconds	~62%
Gap	Difference	~25 percentage points

On most routes, only 55–70% of trains are truly right-time. The 25-percentage-point gap between PPM and right-time represents intermediate stops where passengers experienced delays that the headline statistic doesn't capture.

Network Rail now publishes right-time data alongside PPM in periodic performance reviews.

---

What "on time" means for you

When you look at a departure board on Railly, a train may show as "On time" if its estimated departure matches the timetable. But departure punctuality doesn't guarantee arrival punctuality — a train can depart on time but encounter delays en route.

Where to find YOUR delay

Railly shows delay information at every calling point, not just the origin. When viewing a service detail page:

• Tap on a service row to see the full calling pattern
• Each calling point shows the estimated arrival/departure time and delay
• Find your destination stop in the list — the delay shown there is your arrival delay

This is the number that matters for your Delay Repay claim — not the origin departure time or the final destination.

---

Delay Repay thresholds

Delay Repay is based on the arrival delay at your destination, not at the journey's final stop:

Your arrival delay at destination	Compensation
15–29 minutes	25% of single fare (12.5% of return)
30–59 minutes	50% of single fare (25% of return)
60–119 minutes	100% of single fare (50% of return)
120+ minutes	100% of return fare

The PPM mismatch

Here's a real scenario that illustrates the gap between PPM and Delay Repay:

	PPM view	Your experience
Train: 09:00 Birmingham → London Euston
Your stop: Coventry, scheduled 09:20	—	Arrives 09:35 (15 min late)
Final destination: London Euston	Arrives 10:25 (5 min late)	—
PPM verdict:	✅ On time (5 min ≤ 10 min)	—
Delay Repay:	—	✅ Eligible (15 min late at Coventry)

The train was "on time" according to the industry, but you're still entitled to compensation as an individual passenger. PPM is an industry benchmark; Delay Repay is a passenger right.

---

Punctuality by operator (2024–25)

Based on the most recent ORR passenger rail performance data:

Operator	PPM	Cancellations	Category
c2c	92%	1.8%	Commuter
Greater Anglia	91%	2.1%	Commuter / Regional
Merseyrail	90%	1.5%	Commuter
LNER	88%	3.2%	Long-distance
Southeastern	87%	2.4%	Commuter
CrossCountry	79%	5.8%	Long-distance
Avanti West Coast	80%	6.1%	Long-distance
TransPennine Express	78%	7.3%	Regional / Long-distance

Why the gap exists

Long-distance operators consistently score lower than commuter operators:

• A single incident on a long route (e.g. Edinburgh–Plymouth for CrossCountry) affects many more services
• Long-distance services have more calling points, each an opportunity for delay
• Commuter operators run simpler, self-contained routes with fewer complex junctions

---

How cancellations affect the numbers

Under PPM, any cancelled service counts as a failure:

• Full cancellation — the train did not run at all
• Part cancellation — a portion of a split service was cancelled (e.g. the rear 4 coaches of an 8-car service)
• Station skip — the train ran but omitted your stop

The industry reports these separately:

• Cancellations score (CaSL): The percentage of services cancelled or part-cancelled in a given period. Long-distance operators typically score 4–7%; commuter operators 1–3%.

A high CaSL rate often correlates with lower customer satisfaction, especially for passengers with accessibility needs who rely on booked assistance.

---

How Railly helps

When you search for a service, Railly gives you the data you actually need — not the industry metric:

• Real-time delay at your station — updated live, see exactly how late your train is
• Full calling pattern — estimated times at every stop, not just your origin or the final destination
• Delay Repay eligibility — Railly's Delay Repay page checks your journey history and highlights claimable delays with the correct compensation tier. Not sure if your delay qualifies? See what you can and can't claim.

---

Methodology notes

Data source	Used for	Cadence
ORR passenger rail performance	PPM, CaSL, operator-level statistics	Quarterly
Network Rail internal reporting	Right-time performance	Periodic reviews
Live rail data	Real-time delay tracking	Real-time

---

— PPM methodology based on Network Rail and ORR published guidance. Last checked June 2026.