Within 1 minute = On Time performance measures the percentage of station calls which departed origin, arrived at intermediate calls and arrived at destination early or within 59 seconds of schedule.
Time to 3 (T-3) = The percentage of recorded station stops arrived at early or less than three minutes after the scheduled time.
Cancellations
Full = if the train ran less than half of its planned journey.
Part = If the train ran at least half but not all of its planned journeys or it skipped stops on route.
You find out more information on the Network Rail Performance page and Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Delays and keeping you informed
At c2c we pride ourselves with delivering to you the most up-to-date and important information for your journey. We do this in several ways; from announcements on station, Twitter, the c2c Live App, the Journey Checker system and service alterations pages. With services we want to keep you on track for whatever journey you’re taking.
For more information on delays and why delays occur please go to the National Rail Delays Explained page, which shows a full and comprehensive list of issues which may delay your journey. Delays Explained
How we manage disruption
The rail industry has produced a Code of Practice which sets out guidance and good practice in providing information to customers during times of disruption.
c2c make use of this as a framework for delivering timely, correct and consistent information to you during major disruption and delays to help you make well-informed travel decisions. You can read about our approach in our Local plan for passenger information during disruption 2019
How customers rate our performance
Our Rail User Survey regularly asks a representative sample of 2000 people across Great Britain about their public transport use. Those who used rail in the last seven days are asked about their overall satisfaction with their most recent rail journey and with aspects such as value for money, punctuality and cleanliness.
The last survey was conducted in Spring 2024. Here are our scores for overall journey satisfaction and how we performed against the average London commuter service:
We were below target in Period 7 ( 20th Sept-17th Oct) for Stations Cancellations,On Time to 3 and Customer Satisfaction.
All Stations Cancellations
- The Operator did not achieve the All Stations Cancellations Performance Target during Period 7, achieving 4.5% against a target of 1.60%.
- The Operator failed to achieve the above Performance Target during the reporting period.
Causes of the relevant Performance Target Failure:
The largest cause of cancellations in the period was due to an incident that took place on 8th October and led to 81 cancellations. This was caused by a signalling issue around the Gas Factory Junction which sits between Barking and West Ham. As soon as the issue was identified we took immediate action to resolve this, but we experienced repeated failures across the day, with the fault finally being fixed in the early evening.
This one incident greatly affected our cancellation performance for the rest of the period as no other operational incident led to more than five cancellations.
Actions to Remedy Failure:
A lack of local knowledge of the Gas Faction Junction area led to a longer recovery period. We are working on improving this for any future incidents by reviewing our briefing and training processes, upskilling workers where appropriate.
All other incidents were more minor in nature, and therefore these are being reviewed and managed locally. The reduced impact on cancellations of all other incidents in the period is testament to the improvement plans we have put in place earlier in the year.
Expected Recovery:
Performance was much closer to target this period and significantly improved from Period 6. Soil Moisture Deficit remains an ongoing risk, due to the additional workload for operational and planning teams and the potential need for further service interventions during disruption. Based on current Restriction of Use removal estimates, an elevated risk of cancellations is expected to remain until February 2027.
ON Time to 3
- The Operator achieved 84% for On Time to 3 against a target of 89.80%.
- The Operator failed to achieve the above Performance Target during the reporting period.
Cause(s) of the relevant Performance Target Failure:
In Period 7, as in other recent periods, the majority of On Time to 3 failures were attributed to Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) speed restrictions. Whilst we have the SMD timetable in place to mitigate the impacts of the speed restrictions, any new or increased restrictions in the period can impact our performance. There was a blanket 50mph restriction from Leigh on Sea up to Pitsea which saw most delays.
The other significant contributor to missing the On Time to 3 Target in the period was due to an incident that took place on 8th October and led to 1,589 delay minutes. This was caused by a signalling issue around the Gas Factory Junction which sits between Barking and West Ham. As soon as the issue was identified we took immediate action to resolve this, but we experienced repeated failures across the day, with the fault finally being fixed in the early evening.
Actions to Remedy Failure:
c2c and Network Rail continue to monitor the timetable, make capacity-dependent improvements, and streamline weekly SMD updates. Feedback from the 2026 SMD season is also being reviewed to inform future processes and planning. We also have tamping and stoneblowers booked in for future weeks across the Autumn.
A lack of local knowledge of the Gas Faction Junction area led to a longer recovery period during this incident. We are working on improving this for any future incidents by reviewing our briefing and training processes, upskilling workers where appropriate.
Expected Recovery:
Lifting the tightest speed restrictions and fine-tuning the SMD timetable should help performance improve, with targeted measures bringing some benefits sooner. A substantial recovery, however, is unlikely until the Restrictions of Use are lifted and services return to the normal base timetable. Most restrictions were put in place for safety following an unprecedented, prolonged spell of hot, dry weather that was difficult to foresee and full recovery will hinge on future weather conditions and the state of the infrastructure.
Customer Satisfaction
- The Operator achieved 80.9% MAA for Customer Satisfaction against a target of 82%, meaning the target was missed by – 1.1% percentage points.
- The Operator failed to achieve the above Performance Target during the reporting period.
Period 6 fell below target, primarily due to ongoing operational and infrastructure challenges. A series of asset failures continued impacts from the Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD), and other timetable-related issues resulted in reduced punctuality and increased disruption across the c2c network. These challenges were particularly evident on loop services, where customers experienced more frequent delays, cancellations, and service instability, negatively impacting overall performance and customer experience
Cause(s) of the relevant Performance Target Failure:
The Period 6 shortfall was primarily driven by ongoing operational and infrastructure challenges. A series of asset failures, continued impacts from Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) speed restrictions, and challenges associated with operating the amended Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) timetable reduced punctuality and increased disruption across the c2c network, particularly on loop services.
These operational challenges had a direct impact on customer perceptions, with the largest declines recorded in Train Timeliness, Journey Feel, and Issue Resolution. This reflects the impact of operational challenges on customers’ journeys, as well as their perceptions of how effectively issues were managed and resolved.
Actions to Remedy Failure:
In response to the Period 6 performance challenges, c2c has implemented a range of operational, timetable and customer-focused measures to improve service reliability and minimise disruption. Immediate actions have included enhanced monitoring of asset performance, closer collaboration with Network Rail to address recurring infrastructure failures, and targeted management oversight of services most affected by disruption. The ongoing impacts of Soil
Moisture Deficit (SMD) restrictions continue to be closely managed through revised operational planning and regular performance reviews.
To support recovery, c2c has implemented a Special Timetable designed to improve service resilience, provide greater operational stability, and reduce the impact of delays across the network, particularly on loop services. In parallel, the Planning Team has revised its ways of working, introducing enhanced timetable planning, challenge and assurance processes to improve timetable robustness and overall service reliability.
Anglia Railways have also set-up working groups to identify pain points and root causes and are now working on identifying actions to improve the customers experience during disruption.
Expected Recovery:
The Planning Team’s revised ways of working will be fully embedded by mid-October 2026, strengthening timetable resilience and improving service reliability.
Whilst improvements are expected, there remains no confirmed end date for the ongoing Soil Moisture Deficit (SMD) restrictions. c2c continues to work closely with Network Rail and industry partners to minimise the impact and restore normal operations as soon as possible.
Ticketless Travel – Period 4-6
The Operator did not achieve the Ticketless Travel Performance Target during Q2, recording 3.408% against a target of 3.18%, a marginal adverse variance of 0.228 percentage points. This is made up of a weighted average result of the last four surveys, which scored 3.222% (Q2 26/27), 3.509% (Q1 26/17), 2.658% (Q4 25/26) and 4.491% (Q3 25/26)
Cause(s) of the relevant Performance Target Failure:
Performance across the past three quarters has been good, with the score of 4.491% in Q3 25/26 being the outlier and reducing the average score significantly. After a slight decline in Q1 26/27, the latest survey shows a modest improvement across the core measures. The no-ticket rate, invalid-ticket travel and refusals reduced compared to the previous survey. Overall ticketless travel therefore remains broadly stable although refusals continue to fluctuate and are the main cause of below Target performance.
Actions to Remedy Failure:
We have increased the hours that we staff our gatelines from May 2026. This has led to gateline operational hours being much higher and therefore makes it much more difficult for customers to enter the railway with no ticket. We are constantly reviewing the scheme to ensure we are getting full benefit and to help determine if or when it may come to an end. Alongside this, we are now targeting our Revenue Protection Officers (RPOs) to be more aligned with our increased gateline manning operation hours, supporting our staff in challenging ticketless travel. Finally, we will be placing further resource on tackling peak travel fare evasion both at hotspot locations and on trains.
Expected Recovery:
Recovery is expected through continued targeted deployment of staff and management review of effectiveness ahead of the next ticketless travel assessment. With the poor Q3 25/26 result also being pushed out of the annual average score by the time of the next assessment period, we can expect to get closer to or exceed Target performance.
