UK Businesses are missing out on £465,011,313 every year due to lost wages, thanks to rail delays and cancellations; according to research from CT Business Travel.
Statistics calculated using data released by the ORR and Network Rail show that 8.2% of all trains over the last twelve months were delayed by 15 minutes, or cancelled entirely. For every UK business with employees, this has resulted in £332.15 funds lost annually.
Additionally, there were 64.2923 million delayed or cancelled peak-time trains during the same period, with over 1.0897 billion passengers impacted.
The full statistics can be seen below:
| Total | 15 minutes late | 20 minutes | 30 minutes | cancelled | |
| Percentage of Trains | 100% | 2.00% | 1.10% | 0.40% | 4.70% |
| Number of Trains | 7,789,814 | 155,796 | 85,688 | 31,159 | 366,121 |
| Number of Passengers | 1,700,000,000 | 34,000,000 | 18,700,000 | 6,800,000 | 79,900,000 |
| Number of Peak Passengers | 64.1% Tickets | 21,794,000 | 11,986,700 | 4,358,800 | 51,215,900 |
| Excluding Travel Home | 50% Homeward Journey | 10,897,000 | 5,993,350 | 2,179,400 | 25,607,950 |
| Wage Cost per segment | £14.80 p/h | £3.70 | £4.93 | £7.40 | £14.80 |
| Cumulative Wage Cost | £40,318,900 | £29,567,193 | £16,127,560 | £378,997,660 | |
| Total | £465,011,313 |
Claire Collins, the Managing Director at CT Business Travel, advises on how to cut costs to reduce the effects of disrupted rail travel for businesses:
“Whilst it’s disheartening to see so many journeys interrupted, costs can be saved by being smart when booking rail tickets in the first place, reducing the overall cost impact to businesses.
Booking tickets in advance, for instance, can often half the journey cost, as can bulk buying and being specific with your routes.”
These are unwelcome statistics for businesses across the country, particularly as travel costs are continuing to increase every year. Now more than ever, companies will benefit from investing in a business travel management agency.