Punctuality poses a huge problem for commuters. Many social media posts signal the distress of early morning passengers. For example:

‘Still waiting, been an hour. “Poor rail conditions”. Cold, wet and tired. Great start to the day. @northernassist #NorthernRail‘ ‘Every day the train is delayed. So sick of it. We pay loads and get a rubbish service and old dirty trains. #Southeastern‘

Here at Hopewiser, we wanted to investigate which UK cities provide the most punctual trains for morning commuters.

So, how did we do it?

Using our proximity tool, we located five railways lines that provide train services through major commuter hotspots across 10 different cities. We factored a journey time of up to 50 minutes and chose to analyse trains that arrived at their destination between 7.45am- 8.15am. Plenty of time to walk to the office and grab a coffee for a 9 am start. Using Raildar.co.uk, we calculated how many minutes commuters travelling those train lines wasted waiting on delayed trains over a 12 month period.

Which city came out on top?

Newcastle Upon Tyne emerged as the city with the most punctual trains for morning commuters and Leeds took second place. Bristol took the last place, with commuters on popular rail routes wasting 4159 minutes waiting for late services. Those commuting to London didn’t have it much easier, with the services that were analysed taking 3196 minutes of passenger time.

A City by City Analysis

Travelling to work by train can prove to be a stressful choice at times. However, it’s clear that some UK cities are more of a time drain than others. So, from best to worst, let’s take a closer look at each city and their popular commuter routes.

1. Newcastle Upon Tyne

Compared to the likes of London, Newcastle’s commuter network isn’t vast. However, our analysis of delay times across 5 popular commuter trains over a 12 month period suggests that services are highly reliable.

The most efficient of the services is the Hartlepool to Newcastle line, which departs at 7:03 am. Calling at Seaham, Sunderland and Hemsworth, passengers commuting on this service have experienced overall delays of 126 minutes whilst travelling to work.

The least efficient service is the Hexham to Newcastle line, departing at 7:22 am. The collective 269 minutes of delay time impacted on commuters travelling from Corbridge, Riding Mill, Stocksfield, Prudhoe, Wylam, Metro Centre and Dunston.

2. Leeds

We analysed train routes that service popular commuter towns such as Huddersfield, Bradford and Harrogate.

The 7:34 am service departing from Harrogate and calling at Horsforth proved to be the least efficient line for commuters travelling to New Station Street. Altogether, passengers using this particular service waited 531 minutes for delayed trains on their way to work.

Commuters on the 7:12 am line from Barnsley have a much better start to their morning, with delays totalling a more reasonable 131 minutes.

3. Glasgow

Morning commuters on the 7:26 am train from Dumbarton Central to Glasgow Queen Street face an arduous journey to work, with sleepy passengers wasting 562 minutes of their morning every year. With 12 station stops between the two destinations, this particular journey affects many frustrated commuters.

Of the routes we analysed, those travelling between East Kilbride and Glasgow Central are less likely to have a time-consuming start to their day. Over a 12 month period, passengers were kept waiting for 250 minutes in total.

4. Liverpool

If you’re travelling on the 7:21 am services from St Helen’s Central to Liverpool Central then you should count yourself lucky. Over the last 12 months, commuters working in the city centre have only been delayed for 66 minutes altogether. There’s much to be said about a punctual start to the day.

Unfortunately, those travelling between Ormskirk and Liverpool Central on the 7:35 am service don’t get the same reliability. A total of 379 minutes of delay time was recorded over a 12 month period.