Figures released by the rail regulator show the true scope of cancellations made by the Transpennine Express rail franchise.
In a four-week period, the company postponed 1,048 trains and part of 312 others before 22:30 GMT on the day before they were scheduled to depart.
These cancellations were not counted in official statistics because the announcements weren't made on the scheduled day.
Such decisions were "not taken lightly," according to Transpennine.
These advance cancellations, also known as P-coding cancellations, are typically used when an emergency timetable is required due to bad weather or rail infrastructure damage. .
Transpennine trains, which travel through the North of England and into Scotland, were, however, canceled in each instance due to a lack of available train crew.
In the four weeks leading up to February 4th, it significantly outperformed all other rail operators in terms of cancellations. Government-owned Northern, for instance, reported 182 complete cancellations, Transport for Wales 30, and LNER 17, all of which were attributed to a lack of staff.
Transpennine's cancellations score for that time period increased from an official 8.9 percent to 23.7 percent when P-coding was taken into account, according to data released by the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) regulator.
In order to give customers the most advance notice possible of service changes, Transpennine has previously stated that it only uses planned cancellations "when resources are not available to cover advertised services.".
The report attributed the problem to the "combination effect of extended higher-than-usual sickness levels, the significant driver training program to facilitate the delivery of the Transpennine route upgrade, and an aligned lack of a driver overtime agreement.".
"As a result, services must now be eliminated from the schedule on a daily basis through planned cancellations. ".
The ORR, who released these numbers for the first time on Friday, has criticized the practice.
The regulatory body reported in January that cancellations were at "record levels" and that its investigation "confirmed a further gap between cancellations statistics and the passenger experience.".
This, it was claimed, was "driven by a rise in unrecorded 'pre-cancellations'".
A passenger might find that a train they were planning to board when they went to bed has vanished from the schedule by the time they arrive at the station and are not aware that the train has been canceled. ".
A withdrawal of Transpennine's contract, which expires on May 28, has been demanded by Labour and a few Conservative MPs. .
The service had "never been worse," according to Louise Haigh, Labour's shadow transport secretary, last month.
When a train they planned to board was canceled the day before they were scheduled to leave, Anthony Smith, CEO of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said passengers were left "confused and frustrated," and they may be surprised to learn that this doesn't count as a cancellation.
"Things like this damage trust in the railway and leave a bad taste in the mouth. The severity of this 'P-coding' on some operators in recent months has brought the issue to light. We are pleased to participate in industry discussions about how to allay the regulator's worries by representing the passenger voice.
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