Are privately-owned rail operators more likely to cancel their journeys?

New data from Locals Insider has revealed the UK’s worst train operators for cancellations so far this year, with CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway topping the table.

Local Insider analysed 23 train operators using the industry-standard ‘period cancellation score’, which is based on statistics that cover the first three months of this year, released by the Office of Rail and Road. The period cancellation score accounts for both full and part-cancelled services, with fully cancellations counting as 1 and part cancellations as 0.5, providing a more accurate reflection of overall disruption experienced by passengers. They found that 6.8% of all CrossCountry services were either fully or partially cancelled during that period – the highest proportion out of all the analysed operators.

Avanti West Coast followed close behind with a 6.4% cancellation rate, then East Midlands with 4.8% and Govia Thameslink with 4.4%.

The other end of the table outlines the best performing operators for cancelations, with Hull Trains ranking as the most reliable with a cancellation score of 1.3%, followed by Chiltern Railways with 1.5%.

While the figures do not show a clear trend for efficiency based on either public or private ownership, it is worth noting that the top five worst-performing operators for cancellations are all privately-owned.

Publicly owned operators, including ScotRail with 1.6% and Southeastern with 1.8%, are among the most consistent in the country, while operators that were brought into public ownership due to previous failures, such as TransPennine Express with 3.9%, are now performing considerably better than their private counterparts.

The full train operator period cancellation score for 2026 is as follows:

1. Hull Trains – 1.3%  

2. Chiltern Railways – 1.5%  

3. ScotRail – 1.6%  

4. c2c – 1.6%  

5. Greater Anglia – 1.7%  

6. Southeastern – 1.8%  

7. Merseyrail – 2.5%  

8. Northern – 2.7%  

9. Grand Central – 2.9%  

10. Elizabeth line – 3.0%  

11. TfW Rail – 3.2%  

12. Lumo – 3.3%  

13. Great Western Railway – 3.4%  

14. Caledonian Sleeper – 3.4%  

15. London North Eastern Railway – 3.6%  

16. South Western Railway – 3.6%  

17. TransPennine Express – 3.9%  

18. London Overground – 4.0%  

19. West Midlands Trains – 4.2%  

20. Govia Thameslink Railway – 4.4%  

21. East Midlands Railway – 4.8%  

22. Avanti West Coast – 6.4%  

23. CrossCountry – 6.8% 

These figures come halfway through a country-wide renationalisation process, with 11 major train operators being brought into public ownership by either the UK Government or devolved governments so far.