CHAPTER 8 RAIL SERVICES
1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides information on rail services, such as the numbers of passenger journeys of various types, passenger receipts, punctuality and passenger satisfaction, the amount of freight lifted by origin, destination and commodity, lines open for traffic, number of stations, railway accidents, and some statistics about the Glasgow Subway.
1.2 The figures for 2003-04 and earlier years in some of the tables in this edition have been revised from those which appeared in the previous edition. The figures published previously were produced by the former Strategic Rail Authority; those published now were supplied by the Office of Rail Regulation ( ORR). The revisions are due to the use of different methodologies and systems. The revised total numbers of journeys are below those previously published, although the number of season ticket journeys is higher. The ORR believes that the revised figures are more accurate. Therefore, the figures which were published in the previous edition for the years from 1990-91 to 2003-04 have been superseded by the figures which appear in this chapter and in the Summary section.
1.3 For simplicity, the Scottish passenger rail franchise is referred to throughout as "ScotRail". From 31 March 1997 to 16 October 2004, it was operated by National Express, under the name "ScotRail"; from 17 October 2004, it has been operated by First Group, under the name "First ScotRail".
1.4 Unfortunately, it has not been possible to update some of the tables to the 2006-07 financial year - the relevant figures were not available at the time of going to press.
2. Main Points
2.1 There were 78.1 million rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland in the 2005-06 financial year. This was about 5.2 million (7%) less than in the previous year, and 21.4 million (38%) more than 10 years earlier. Following a fall in the early 1990's, passenger numbers increased in every year after 1994-95, to 64.9 million in 1999-2000. However, they then fell by 0.1 million in 2000-01 due to the effects on rail services of the speed restrictions which were imposed following the accident at Hatfield in October 2000 (for example, some journey times took much longer, the Edinburgh/Glasgow daytime frequency was halved for about two months, and some sleeper services did not run for about five months, with consequent effects on patronage). There were falls of 0.2 million in 2001-02 and 3.2 million in 2002-03 due to the effects on services of the ScotRail drivers' pay dispute, including some one day strikes and a special timetable (involving a reduction of about a quarter in weekday services) from January to May 2002. Subsequently, patronage recovered, with a 8% rise in the number of rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland in 2003-04 and an increase of 10% to 72.9 million in 2004-05. This is the largest figure since 1964, when there were 73.0 million passenger journeys originating in Scotland (see Table H1). ( Table 8.1)
2.2 There were 75.5 million rail passenger journeys within Scotland during 2005-06, and 2.6 million cross-border journeys originating in Scotland. Total passenger revenue from journeys originating in Scotland was £233.8 million for 2005-06. ( Table 8.1)
2.3 The number of cross-border passenger journeys originating outwith Scotland in 2005-06 was 2.6 million, 0.2 million more than in the previous year. Cross-border passenger journeys originating outwith Scotland had been increasing since 1994-95, when they were around 2.1 million, to 2.7 million in 1999-2000. However, they fell slightly in 2000-01 and 2002-03 due to the problems referred to above. Passenger revenue for cross-border passenger journeys originating outwith Scotland was £68.9 million in 2005-06. ( Table 8.2)
2.4 In 2006-07, there were an estimated 77.3 million passenger train journey stages on ScotRail services, 2.2 million (3%) more than in the previous year. This represents an increase of about 46% over ten years (the figure for 1996-97 was 52.8 million), and is by far the highest level seen since records of ScotRail passenger numbers began in 1992-93. There have been increases in most years since 1996-97. However, the effects of the "Hatfield" and "drivers dispute" problems (described earlier) led to falls of 4% in 2001-02 and 6% in 2002-03. Following the resumption of normal service, ScotRail passenger numbers increased by 9% in 2003-04 and 10% in 2004-05. ( Table 8.3)
2.5 The total number of passenger train journey stages on services which were supported by what is now the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport rose between 1996-97 and 1999-2000, from 39 million to 43 million per year. They remained at 43.1 million for 2000-01, but subsequently fell in each of the following 2 years before increasing again to 52.1 million in 2006-07 (an increase of 34% over 1996-97 and 4% on 2005-06). From November 2005 these services are no longer supported by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Scottish Ministers are now responsible for support. The number of passenger-kilometres travelled on such services rose by 10% to 863 million in 2006-07 compared with 2004-05.. Passenger receipts rose from £53.13 million in 2003-04 to £60.04 million in 2004-05, an increase of 13% in cash terms and 10% in real terms. ( Table 8.3)
2.6 In 2006-07, there was a total of 25.2 million passenger train journey stages on ScotRail services other than those supported by SPTE. ( Table 8.3)
2.7 Tables 8.4 to 8.8 provide statistics based on data about passenger journeys which were made using national rail tickets, for which full information about the origin and destination stations is held in the central database. These figures exclude journeys for which full information is not held centrally, such as those made using Strathclyde Passenger Transport Zonecards. In 2005-06, of the 63.9 million passenger journeys to, from or within Scotland (counting outward and return journeys separately) for which full details are available from the central database, 93% were within Scotland. The main origins or destinations of cross-border passenger journeys were North East England (1.3 million) and North West England and London (each 1.1 million). ( Table 8.4)
2.8 In 2005-06 61% of passenger journeys using national rail tickets to Aberdeen involved travelling distances of 100+ kms. For such passenger journeys to Edinburgh, 46% were between 20 kms and 49.99 kms, and for passenger journeys using national rail tickets to Glasgow, the distance band with the highest percentage (24%) was 100+ kms. ( Table 8.5)
2.9 In 2005-06, there were 63.9 million passenger journeys, wholly within Scotland, using national rail tickets. About 26.3 million of these started at a station within Glasgow, 7.7 million started in Edinburgh, 3.2 million in North Lanarkshire, 2.8 million in South Lanarkshire and 2.6 million in Renfrewshire. Of these journeys within Scotland, there were 9.9 million within Glasgow, 5.2 million between Glasgow and North Lanarkshire (with roughly half that number in each direction), 4.7 million between Glasgow and South Lanarkshire, 3.6 million between Edinburgh and Fife, 3.5 million between Glasgow and Renfrewshire, 2.7 million between Edinburgh and Glasgow, 2.8 million between Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire, 2.5 million between Edinburgh and West Lothian, and 2.5 million between Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire. ( Table 8.6)
2.10 Tables 8.7 and 8.8 provide information about passenger journeys, made using national rail tickets, which were recorded as being to or from individual stations. The figures for the usage of some of these stations would have been higher, if full information about the numbers of journeys made using SPT Zonecards were recorded centrally, and if it were possible to count against the appropriate destination a journey which was made using a ticket which specified that the destination was a particular SPT zone within Glasgow. (Passengers who changed trains at a station, without buying a new ticket there, are not counted against it in these figures.) In 2005-06, Glasgow Central was the busiest national rail station in Scotland, with just over 29 million passenger journeys using national rail tickets to or from it. Edinburgh Waverley was used by over 14 million passengers, Glasgow Queen Street by 3.7 million, Paisley Gilmour Street by 3.1 million, Aberdeen by 2.1 million, Stirling by 1.9 million, Haymarket by 1.7 million, Partick by 1.6 million, Charing Cross (Glasgow) and Dundee by 1.5 each, and Ayr by 1.4 million. Including those already listed, there was a total of 54 stations for which more than half a million passenger journeys each were recorded in the national ticketing system. ( Table 8.7)
2.11 Of the stations in Scotland which have opened (or re-opened) since 1970, the ones with the largest numbers of passenger journeys using national rail tickets recorded in 2005-06 were Bathgate (645,000), Exhibition Centre (633,000), Livingston North (622,000), Argyle Street (574,000), South Gyle (424,000), Edinburgh Park (353,000), Anderston (341,000), Dyce (335,000) and Uphall (249,000). Again, the figures for some stations would be higher, if full information about the numbers of journeys made using SPT Zonecards were recorded centrally, and if it were possible to count against the appropriate destination a journey where the ticket specified that destination was an SPT zone . ( Table 8.8)
2.12 For the purpose of compiling rail punctuality statistics, regional operators' services are counted as "on time" if they arrive at their final destination under five minutes late, and long-distance operators' services are "on time" if they arrive under ten minutes late. In 2006-07, the percentage of trains arriving on time was 88.8% for ScotRail, 86% for Virgin West Coast, 83.9% for Virgin Cross Country and 82.7% for GNER. ( NB: these figures relate to all trains run by these operators - not just to their Scottish services). For all GB long-distance operators it was 84.8% and for all GB regional operators it was 87.6%. Although the figures for 2006-07 were higher than the equivalent figures for the previous year, the years before the problems described in paragraph 2.1, some are below the levels generally achieved in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 ( Table 8.9)
2.13 In 2006-07, 95% of ScotRail trains arrived on time or under ten minutes late, 1.5% arrived 20 or more minutes late, and 1.2% were cancelled. ( Table 8.10)
2.14 The number of passengers "in excess of capacity" (see paragraphs 3.16 to 3.18) on Edinburgh commuter services across the Forth was 2.0% in 2003. Such information has not been collected since. ( Table 8.11)
2.15 In 2006, 87% of ScotRail passengers were either "satisfied" or said "good" when asked their opinion of their overall journey. The equivalent figure was 89% for non-ScotRail passengers whose journeys started in Scotland, 85% for all GB regional operators and 88% for all GB long-distance operators. The table shows ScotRail passengers' ratings of 14 aspects of service: in 2006, there were 11 for which at least 70% of those surveyed were satisfied, or said "good". ( Table 8.12)
2.16 In 2005-06, 14 million tonnes of freight was lifted in Scotland by rail, 24% more than the previous year, and over twice the amount in 1996-97. Of all freight lifted in Scotland, 64% was delivered elsewhere within the UK and about 4% was delivered outwith the UK (because of the way that the statistics are compiled, this figure includes freight for export which was delivered to a port in Britain, as well as Channel Tunnel traffic). The amount of freight lifted in Scotland with a destination in Scotland had increased by 1.21 million tonnes (37%) over the period 1996-97 to 2005-06. In 2005-06, coal and other minerals accounted for 10.8 million tonnes (77%) of the freight lifted in Scotland. Dividing the number of tonne-kilometres by the number of tonnes gives an average length of haul of 139 kilometres for traffic remaining in Scotland, 367 kilometres for traffic to other parts of the UK, and 713 kilometres for traffic destined for outwith the UK. ( Table 8.13)
2.17 A total of 2.08 million tonnes of freight lifted elsewhere in the UK was delivered in Scotland in 2005-06, along with 0.48 million tonnes of freight from outwith the UK (the latter figure includes imported freight which was lifted at ports in England or Wales). The total amount of freight with a destination in Scotland increased by 21%, from 5.82 million tonnes in 2004-05 to 7.03 million tonnes in 2005-06. ( Table 8.14)
2.18 The total route length of the railway network in Scotland is 2,736 kilometres, of which 639 kilometres is electrified. These figures do not represent the total length of railway track: a kilometre of single-track and a kilometre of double-track both count as one kilometre of route length. ( Table 8.15)
2.19 The number of passenger stations has increased from 331 in 1996-97 to 344 in 2006-07, an increase on the previous year (340). ( Table 8.16)
2.20 The local authorities which had the largest numbers of stations located in their areas in 2006 were Glasgow (60) and Highland (58). Three mainland councils did not have any stations in their areas: Clackmannanshire, Midlothian and Scottish Borders. ( Table 8.17)
2.21 On the Glasgow Subway, over the past ten years, the number of passenger journeys has fluctuated between about 13.2 million and 14.7 million. In 2006-07, it remained almost constant at 13.2 million. Passenger receipts (excluding other revenue) were almost £12.4 million in 2006-07, 11% more in cash terms, and 7% more in real terms, than in the previous year . ( Table 8.18)
2.22 The number of train accidents edged up from 41 to 46 in 2006, mainly due to the slight increase in trains running into obstructions on the line. The number of derailments rose from 3 in 2004 to 6 in 2005 but fell to 5 in 2006. There were no collisions, less than half the number of fires compared to 2004 and only 3 reports of missiles through cab windows. There were no deaths due to train accidents or the movement of railway vehicles and for the first time since records began, there were no injuries due to train accidents. There were 171 injuries occurring on railway premises which is 33% lower than the peak of 342 in 1997/98. ( Table 8.19)
2.23 The total number of fatalities is the highest in the last 10 years, although only one higher than peaks of 27 in 2000-01 and 2003. The figure is made up of an increased number of trespasser/suicide deaths and one railway employee, who was killed when he fell beneath the wheels of a road-rail access platform at Edinburgh Waverley. ( Table 8.20)
3. Notes and Definitions
Passenger journeys (including passenger journeys made using national rail tickets, and ScotRail passenger train journey stages) and associated receipts
3.1 All the statistics are based on the sales of tickets, with the rail industry's central ticketing system (formerly called CAPRI - Computer Analysis of Passenger Revenue Information, now replaced and renamed LENNON - Latest Earnings Nationally Networked Over Night) being the source of most of the figures. LENNON holds information on all national rail tickets purchased in Great Britain. As the statistics are based on ticket sales, they do not include passenger journeys, or train journey stages, made by people without tickets, by railway staff using special passes, and by blind people under a free concessionary travel scheme. A single ticket is counted as one passenger journey, a return ticket is counted as two passenger journeys (one in each direction), and the number of journeys made by holders of season tickets is estimated from the sales of such tickets, using the standard factors for season tickets of various lengths which are adopted for the production of National Rail passenger statistics. Because the statistics are based on the sale of tickets, there is multiple counting when a passenger uses more than one ticket to make a journey. For example, suppose that someone who travels from A to B, and then on to C, buys a separate single ticket for each of the two stages of the journey. This would be counted as two passenger journeys, because two single tickets were purchased.
3.2 LENNON does not record directly sales of certain products, including:
- some operator-specific tickets;
- some types of promotional fares (such as "two for the price of one") and combined rail plus "add-on" tickets (e.g. covering a journey by rail and admission to an attraction);
- multi-modal "travelcard"-type tickets, such as the SPT "Zonecard".
Separate estimates of the total numbers of passenger journeys made using such tickets are added to the database at a later stage. For example, the number of rail journeys that are made using Zonecards is estimated using information from SPT's surveys of the journeys made by a sample of holders of different types of Zonecards. The overall result of the estimation process is numbers of passenger journeys which are, in effect, on the basis that someone who uses a Zonecard to travel from a suburban station to a Glasgow terminus and then buys a single to (say) Edinburgh, will be counted in the statistics as two passenger journeys.
3.3 Due to the differences in the information that is available for different kinds of ticket, and in the ways in which the rail industry's systems work, figures for Scotland are produced on three different bases. In ascending order of size, they are:
The paragraphs which follow describe each of these bases in turn.
3.4 Passenger journeys made using national rail tickets: these figures are produced from LENNON information about the numbers of national rail through tickets sold for journeys between particular destinations. A journey from (say) North Berwick to Carlisle made using a through single ticket would be counted as only one passenger journey, even though it involves a change of train (and a change of operator). However, a passenger who purchased separate single tickets for (a) North Berwick to Edinburgh and (b) Edinburgh to Carlisle would be counted as making two passenger journeys using national rail tickets, because two single tickets were sold. Tables 8.4 to 8.6 provide figures on this basis, which is the same as that used for the "Regional usage profiles" figures in "National Rail Trends" yearbook: the number of through tickets sold between destinations. (The information presented in Tables 8.4 to 8.6 ignores the effect of the " ORCATS" allocation process, which is described later.)
3.5 Passenger journeys: these figures are produced by adding together:
- the numbers of passenger journeys made using national rail tickets - produced from LENNON information about national rail ticket sales, as described in the previous paragraph; and
- estimates of the numbers of certain types of passenger journey that are not recorded directly by LENNON, such as those which are made using some types of promotional fares, combined rail plus "add-on" tickets, and multi-modal "travelcard" type tickets, such as the SPT "Zonecard".
3.6 ScotRail passenger train journey stages: these figures are produced from:
- data which have been subject to the ORCATS process (Operational Research Computer Allocation of Tickets to Services). This uses the national rail ticket sales information from LENNON to allocate the revenue from a passenger's ticket to the Train Operating Companies ( TOCs) which provide the services on the route or routes which were used for the passenger's journey. In the ORCATS process, a passenger journey that would involve a change of train is counted against each of the trains that would be used in the course of that journey. For example, a journey made using a through single ticket from (say) North Berwick to Carlisle would be counted twice, to reflect the fact that the passenger would use one train from North Berwick to Edinburgh, and then have to change at Edinburgh to another train to Carlisle. This is done in order that the revenue relating to the ticket can be allocated pro rata to the operators of the different trains used in the course of the journey: the revenue for the North Berwick to Edinburgh stage of the journey would be allocated to ScotRail and the revenue for the Edinburgh to Carlisle stage of the journey would be allocated to the Virgin train operators. This process applies even if the same company operates both (or all) the trains which were used in the course of a journey. For example, even though ScotRail operates all the trains that would be used, a through single ticket from Milngavie to North Berwick would be counted as three passenger train journey stages: (i) Milngavie to Glasgow Queen Street; (ii) Queen Street to Edinburgh; and (iii) Edinburgh to North Berwick. Therefore, the figures for ScotRail passenger train journey stages in Table 8.3 represent the numbers of different trains used in the course of journeys on ScotRail services, not the actual numbers of journeys made.
- estimates of the numbers of journeys (or parts of journeys) made using tickets (such as Zonecards) whose sales are not recorded directly by LENNON (some of these estimates are added after the allocation process).
The figures in Table 8.3 are on the same basis as the "Rail usage" and "Train Operating Company" figures in the "National Rail Trends" yearbook, although they differ slightly in the way the Zonecard adjustment is made.
3.7 Journeys originating in Scotland, and cross-border journeys: the statistics are compiled on the basis of where each journey starts. For example, someone who used a Zonecard to travel from a suburban station to, say, Glasgow Central, and then bought a single to (say) Manchester, would be counted as making one "internal (within Scotland)" journey and one "cross-border originating in Scotland" journey.
3.8 Ticket types: the following are identified:
- Full fare - e.g. first class, standard single and standard open return;
- Reduced fare - e.g. saver, supersaver, cheap day return, special "promotional" fares, such as "two for the price of one" and combined rail plus "add-on" tickets (see below);
- Season tickets - includes Zonecards.
3.9 Journeys datasets in LENNON - LENNON contains two datasets - pre-allocation (sales) and post-allocation (earnings). Allocations are created for each ticket group, dependant on sales levels, by ORCATS (Operational Research Computer Allocation of Tickets to Services). These allocations are principally used to apportion journeys between TOCs. ORCATS is a mathematical model, which was introduced in the 1980s, which uses a similar logic to journey planning systems and identifies passenger 'opportunities to travel' from an origin station to a destination station using timetable information. An opportunity to travel may include one or more changes of train and one journey will be generated for each train used during an opportunity to travel. This will result in the number of journeys being inflated by around 5%, compared to the pre-allocation dataset which does not assign journeys between TOCs.
3.10 Revenue: this includes all ticket revenue and miscellaneous charges associated with passenger travel, such as car park charges earned by the Train Operators. In the case of combined rail plus "add-on" tickets (e.g. a ticket which covers both a journey by rail and admission to an attraction, or a ticket which covers both a journey by rail and a bus, taxi or ferry journey from the destination station), the figures held in the database for revenue from the sales of such tickets do not indicate how much relates to the rail travel. Therefore, all the revenue from the sales of such tickets is counted in these statistics.
3.11 Concessionary fares: the figures for revenue include payments made by passengers for concessionary fares, but not the additional payments made by local authorities and the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to reimburse the train operator for the difference between the concessionary fare and the normal fare for the journey (because these are not recorded in the database).
3.12 Passenger journeys, using national rail tickets, to and from particular stations: the figures in Tables 8.7 and 8.8 are produced from information about through tickets sold for journeys between different destinations, and are subject to the same points as were made in the earlier paragraph on passenger journeys made using national rail tickets. However, there are differences, because the figures in these tables aim to represent the numbers of people using each individual station (but not counting those who change trains there, unless they buy another ticket: these figures are of "entries and exits" to/from the national rail system, not counting "interchanges"). Normally, a single journey between two stations within Scotland will be counted twice (once against the origin station and once against the destination station) and a single journey between Scotland and England will be counted only once (against only the station in Scotland). However, when the contractor working for the Office of Rail Regulation ( ORR) produced the figures, there were two complications, the second of which caused some journeys to be counted less than this:
- in the case of some places with more than one station, it is possible to buy a ticket which allows travel to and from any of the stations at that place. Such tickets are recorded in the database as being to/from a "group" station (e.g. "Glasgow stations") rather than being to/from any particular station (e.g. Central or Queen Street). When the ORR's contractor produced statistics of the numbers of passengers using each station (like those in Table 8.7), it split the numbers of journeys made using tickets which specified origins/destinations as places (e.g. Glasgow) between the relevant stations. This could be based on information about services and passenger numbers for the places concerned, or could simply count them all against the "major" stations within the group.
- it is possible to purchase national rail tickets for travel between a particular station (or place) and an SPT zone in Glasgow - the ticket allows the traveller to use any of the stations in that SPT zone. Such tickets are recorded in the database as being between the specified place and the SPT zone. In such cases, when it produced the "station usage" statistics, the ORR's contractor counted journeys against origins/destinations outwith Glasgow as described above. However, the contractor did not count origins/destinations which were recorded as SPT zones against any of the Glasgow stations, because it had no basis on which to split the journeys made using such tickets between the stations in the zones. The result is a further underestimation of the number of passengers using Glasgow stations (in addition to the exclusions, mentioned earlier, such as journeys made using SPT Zonecards). As a result, the total of the figures produced on this basis for all the stations in Scotland is about 5% less than the total usage of Scottish stations that one would obtain from Table 8.4 by simply counting each journey within Scotland twice, and each cross-border journey once. ( NB: this complication does not affect the numbers of journeys between council areas shown in Table 8.6, because all " SPT zone" journey origins and destinations were counted as being within Glasgow.)
"Station usage" figures were produced on this basis for every station in Great Britain, and made available on the ORR Web site, as described in section 5. The ORR station usage data consist of separate estimates of the total numbers of people entering, exiting and interchanging at stations. The station usage information from which Table 8.7 was produced is based on ticket sales covering all National Rail stations throughout England, Scotland and Wales. (It does not include those stations that are owned by London Underground. The ticketing system does not record certain journeys made using TfL bought travelcards, TfL Freedom Passes, staff travel passes and certain other PTE specific products. For example, a large proportion of tickets sold in London are not recorded in the ticketing system, and so will have a significant impact on the London figures in the ORR station usage file.) The calculation of station usage levels uses sales recorded in the railway ticketing system prior to their allocation to individual operators, and so does not take into account any changes of train during the course of a journey. The figures which appear in Table 8.7 are estimates of the numbers of "entries and exits", and do not include the estimated numbers of people who change trains at the specified stations (unless they buy another ticket there).
Rail punctuality - Public Performance Measure
3.13 The Public Performance Measure ( PPM) combines punctuality and reliability into a single measure of the performance of individual trains against the planned timetable for the day, which may differ from the published timetable (e.g. due to engineering works, speed restrictions, flooding, etc).
3.14 For "long-distance" operators (such as GNER, Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast) the PPM is the percentage of trains arriving within ten minutes of timetable at the final destination; for "regional" operators (such as ScotRail) the PPM is the percentage arriving within five minutes of timetable. (The definitions differ because, in general, "long-distance" operators' trains run further than "regional" operators' trains.) The figures relate to all the services which are provided by the operator, so (for example) the PPM for GNER is an overall measure for all its trains, not just for those which run to, from or within Scotland.
3.15 Trains which complete their journey are measured for punctuality at the final destination. When a train fails to run its entire planned route, calling at all timetabled stations, it is either shown as "cancelled" (if it runs less than half of its planned mileage) or counted in the "20 or more minutes late" band. Therefore, such a train would not be counted as arriving at the final destination within the number of minutes specified in the PPM.
Passengers in excess of capacity
3.16 From 2001 to 2003, the former Strategic Rail Authority monitored overcrowding on Edinburgh commuter services across the Forth Bridge . Passengers in excess of capacity ( PIXC) was calculated for weekday commuter trains which arrived in Edinburgh between 07:00 and 09:59, or which departed between 16:00 and 18:59.
3.17 PIXC was calculated as the number of passengers travelling in excess of capacity on all of the specified services divided by the total number of passengers travelling on those services, and expressed as a percentage. For journeys of more than 20 minutes, capacity was deemed to be the number of standard class seats on the train; for journeys of 20 minutes or less, there was also an allowance for standing room (which varies with the type of rolling stock - e.g. for modern sliding door stock, it was typically of the order of 35% of the number of seats).
3.18 The SRA set limits on the level of PIXC at 4.5% on one peak, and 3.0% across both peaks. However, there is no requirement to monitor passengers in excess of capacity under the current Scottish passenger rail franchise, which applies from 17 October 2004 (the date when First Group took over the operation of the ScotRail franchise) - and therefore such information is no longer collected.
Rail passenger satisfaction: National Passenger Survey
3.19 Passengers' ratings of their train journeys are shown in three groups: those which are regarded as "generic"; those which relate to the station; and those which relate to the journey.
3.20 The table shows the percentages who said that they were satisfied / very satisfied with each factor, or who rated it as "good / very good". The difference between the percentage shown for a factor and 100% is made up of both
(a) those who said that they were dissatisfied / very dissatisfied, or who rated it "poor / very poor"; and
(b) those who said that they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, or who rated it neither "good / very good" nor "poor / very poor".
3.21 A passenger who changes trains in the course of a journey is asked for his/her views of the first station and the first train that was used in the journey. In all analyses, such a person's answers are counted against the operator of the first train.
3.22 ScotRail is classified as a regional operator by the Office of Rail Regulation, therefore results for ScotRail should be compared with those for all GB regional operators that appear in the table. 'Others whose journey started in Scotland' is made up of long distance routes and these results should be compared with all GB long distance operators.
Freight traffic
3.23 Freight traffic: the figures for 1996-97 onwards were prepared from information supplied by the rail freight companies. The numbers of tonne-kilometres in those years relate to the whole distance that the freight is carried on the companies' trains, not just to that part of the journey which is within Scotland.
3.24 Origins and destinations of freight traffic: three points should be noted about the figures which have been provided by the rail companies for 1996-97 onwards:
(i) "lifted within Scotland" includes freight from abroad which arrives at a Scottish port (eg Hunterston) and is lifted from there by rail;
(ii) "lifted outwith UK" includes freight from abroad which was imported via ports in England and Wales (eg Teesside) and was then brought from there into Scotland by rail;
(iii) "lifted within Scotland, delivered outwith UK" includes freight which is delivered to a Scottish port (eg Leith) or to an English port (eg Southampton) for export.
It follows that the figures in the tables for freight lifted or delivered "outwith the UK" cover much more than just rail traffic which goes through the Channel Tunnel.
There are no statistics available for freight lifted or delivered "outwith UK" in the years prior to 1996-97. In the figures that were produced for those years, traffic delivered by rail to ports for export was counted on the basis of the location of the port, and so was counted under either "Scotland" or "elsewhere in the UK". Similarly, freight which was imported, and picked up by rail at a port, was counted on the basis of the location of the port. However, the figures that were produced for those years excluded any international freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel (for which freight services commenced in June 1994).
Other statistics
3.25 Railway Accidents: the statistics are of railway incidents statutorily reported under " The Reporting of Incidents, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 ( RIDDOR)". These regulations came into force on the 1 April 1996 and brought railway accident reporting in line with other industry accident reporting. The fatalities are classified by the former Region because those are the areas which are shown in the Rail Atlas which HM Railway Inspectorate uses to identify the locations of the fatalities. Due to an EU safety directive which came into force in 2006, railway accident statistics in table 8.19 and 8.20 have been changed from a "financial year" basis to a "calendar year" basis with effect from 2003.
4. Sources
4.1 Tables 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 (ScotRail figures) and 8.4 to 8.8 were supplied (or updated) by the Office of Rail Regulation, which produced the numbers of passenger journeys, and the associated revenue, from information held in the LENNON database This records the number of tickets, and the associated revenue, for journeys between every pair of railway stations in Great Britain, and other information, such as estimates (which are sent to it by ScotRail) of the numbers of rail journeys which were made by holders of SPT's multi-modal Zonecard - for further details, please see the notes and definitions in Section 3. As indicated earlier, the ORR provided revised figures for 2003-04 and earlier years for Tables 8.1, 8.2 and H1. Some of the other tables include figures for 2003-04 and earlier years which appeared in previous editions, having been supplied by the former Strategic Rail Authority, which derived them in a similar way.
4.2 The SPT figures in Table 8.3, and the figures in Table 8.18, were compiled from information provided by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
4.3 The rail punctuality (Public Performance Measure) figures in Table 8.9 and 8.10 were provided by the ORR. The punctuality of trains is generally recorded using automated monitoring systems, which log performance using the signalling equipment.
4.4 The Passengers in Excess of Capacity figures in Table 8.11 were provided by the former Strategic Rail Authority, based on the train operating company's annual Autumn count of passengers in excess of capacity.
4.5 The rail passenger satisfaction survey figures in Table 8.12 were provided by Passenger Focus. The survey is conducted by distributing self-completion questionnaires, with reply-paid envelopes, at about 620 stations across GB, which are selected to be representative of the entire network, including about 46 stations in Scotland. The questionnaires are distributed at different times of the day and across different days of the week. There are two survey periods per year: Spring and Autumn. The overall response rate is about 40%. The data are weighted to represent the passengers using each operator's services, in terms of the proportions of sales of tickets of different types, with the aim of reflecting the balance between journeys for different purposes, such as commuting, business travel and leisure. Passenger Focus publishes the results of the Spring and Autumn surveys separately, but has combined them for publication here, in order to provide annual figures.
4.6 Tables 8.13 and 8.14: the figures for 1996-97 and later years were prepared from information supplied by the rail freight companies.
4.7 Tables 8.15, 8.16 and 8.17 were compiled from information supplied by Network Rail.
4.8 Table 8.19 and 8.20 were compiled by HM Railway Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive.
5. Further Information
5.1 Rail statistics for Great Britain as a whole are available from the annual DfT publication "Transport Statistics Great Britain" and from the Office of Rail Regulation's quarterly "National Rail Trends". The "fourth quarter" edition of "National Rail Trends" is a "yearbook" which also includes some figures for individual Train Operating Companies and for Scotland, Wales and the regions of England. The figures for the 100 busiest stations were extracted from a "station usage" spreadsheet, giving the number of passengers for each station in Great Britain, which is available on the ORR Web site, at www.rail-reg.gov.uk. Further information about the rail passenger statistics which were provided by the ORR is available from the Office of Rail Regulation Statistics team (tel: 020 7282 2192/2196) or email rstats@orr.gsi.gov.uk.
5.2 For further information about the passenger satisfaction figures from the National Passenger Survey, contact Peter Thompson of Passenger Focus (tel: 0870 336 6032).
5.3 Further information about services supported and/or operated by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is available from Ron Hunter of SPT(tel: 0141 333 3297).
5.4 For further information on railway accidents, contact Mr Paul Wilkinson, HM Railway Inspectorate (tel: 0207 717 6521) or e-mail paul.wilkinson@hse.gsi.gov.uk.
5.5 For further information on the statistics supplied by Network Rail, contact Mr David Boyce (tel: 0141 555 4107).