IARNRÓD ÉIREANN says services in the first quarter of 2012 were more punctual than any others in its history.
InterCity services reached record punctuality in the months of January to March, with 97.5 per cent of services – the equivalent of 39 out of every 40 trains – arriving within ten minutes of their scheduled time.
The ten-minute window is laid out by the National Transport Authority as the criterion by which a service is considered ‘punctual’ or not.
Commuter services saw punctuality of 98.8 per cent, while DART services – in which the permissible delay is reduced from ten minutes to five – saw punctuality of 91.1 per cent.
All three services were more punctual than the first quarter of 2011: InterCity services had 91.9 punctuality then, while commuter services were on time 97 per cent of the time, and DART services were on time on 87.7 per cent of journeys.
An Iarnród Éireann spokesman said the figures collectively marked the best quarterly performance on record.
By comparison, commuter services had a punctuality level of 96.2 per cent in the final three months of 2011, though this could be attributed to the delays caused by the flooding in the Dublin region last October.
“This very strong performance is the result of the efforts of staff in every function in Iarnród Éireann, and the benefits of investment in fleet, infrastructure and other systems in recent years,” the spokesman said.
“These figures are also the raw figures, which include delays caused by factors outside our control, so our own performance is stronger again. We will continue to focus on punctuality to ensure that these high standards are maintained and improved upon.”
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