Beleaguered passengers have lost almost a million minutes in train delays due to signal failures in the last five years alone, figures have revealed.
Railway users have faced nearly 15,000 cancellations due to human and technical errors, including more than 1,000 incidents this year.
Since 2019, passengers have lost 988,419 minutes sat on trains left waiting on platforms or motionless due to these failures – equivalent to 686 days or almost two full years’ worth of delays.
Stationary trains which are held at red signals can quickly result in backlogs.
The data, released by Network Rail in response to a Freedom of Information request, lays bare the state of Britain’s crumbling rail infrastructure.
Wera Hobhouse, the Lib Dem transport spokesman, said: ‘Passengers have put up with years of unacceptable delays and extortionate rail fares. They are forced to pay through the nose for a service that they cannot rely on.
‘With thousands of signal failures, it is clear that our rail infrastructure is not delivering for passengers who rely on these services just to go about their everyday lives.
‘That is why it’s time to put passengers first and ensure services run smoothly so they no longer have to suffer these damaging delays. Passengers should also not be forced to pay more for a service that is simply not working.’
The party is now calling for an immediate freeze on rail fares. Commuters have already wasted nearly 40,000 minutes waiting for late trains this year and have contended with more than a thousand signal failures.
And in the last financial year, passengers were delayed by 190,000 minutes due to the faults.
The constant interruptions to passenger journeys are a result of the 37,000 signal failures that have occurred since 2018/19.
These failures meant nearly 15,000 journeys were cancelled – with 10,078 partial and 4,266 full cancellations.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has pledged to establish a new, arms-length body, Great British Railways, to unify the network and ensure improved services for passengers.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘We know our railways aren’t fit for purpose, which is why we’re undertaking the biggest overhaul in a generation by bringing passenger rail into public ownership.
‘Publicly-owned Great British Railways will end years of waste and fragmentation – bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers with more reliable, better quality services and simpler ticketing and fares.’