TrainAtlasThis is a weekday HSP sample of selected UK intercity corridors, not a whole-network National Rail ranking. Weekday HSP sample of 16 selected intercity flows, queried in both directions. Weekends and all other National Rail routes are excluded. 31 of 32 directional HSP queries returned data for this week. Below are the corridors running furthest behind schedule, ranked by HSP-derived estimated median arrival delay.
4 of this week's 4 most delayed UK routes touch London Euston.
The most delayed UK train directions this week
| # | Route | Estimated delay | Late (5+ min) | Trains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London EustonGlasgow Central (London Euston to Glasgow Central) | 16min | 73% | 104 |
| 2 | Glasgow CentralLondon Euston (Glasgow Central to London Euston) | 14min | 73% | 110 |
| 3 | PrestonLondon Euston (Preston to London Euston) | 12min | 73% | 171 |
| 4 | London EustonManchester Piccadilly (London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly) | 12min | 78% | 235 |
Bars are scaled to the worst route this week. Estimated typical delay is derived from National Rail HSP tolerance buckets; late is the share of HSP-matched services five or more minutes behind. Only directions with at least 25 matched weekday services are listed. Scope: Weekday HSP sample of 16 selected intercity flows, queried in both directions. Weekends and all other National Rail routes are excluded. 31 of 32 directional HSP queries returned data for this week.
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Why are UK trains so delayed?
Three things compound:
- A tale of two main lines. The split is stark: the West Coast route out of London Euston runs badly late, while the East Coast route from Kings Cross to Leeds and Edinburgh stays far more punctual.
- Aging signalling, shared tracks. Long-distance expresses share congested tracks with commuter and freight services, so a single delay cascades.
- Fragmented operators. With many operators on shared infrastructure, a problem on one spills onto the others.
How we measure this
- HSP-derived estimated arrival delay.
- National Rail HSP provides performance-tolerance buckets rather than one public arrival timestamp per service. We derive an estimated median delay from those buckets.
- Estimated median, not average.
- Each selected direction uses HSP tolerance-bucket counts to estimate the median across its matched weekday services, limiting the effect of an extreme service.
- A 25-service floor.
- A selected direction needs at least 25 HSP-matched weekday services to appear.
- Scope.
- Weekday HSP sample of 16 selected intercity flows, queried in both directions. Weekends and all other National Rail routes are excluded. 31 of 32 directional HSP queries returned data for this week.
TrainAtlas is independent and not affiliated with National Rail operators or any rail operator. These are our own measurements from public data, not official punctuality statistics - operators publish on-time percentages using their own, more generous thresholds, so our median-minutes figure will usually read worse. Data source: National Rail Historic Service Performance (HSP). Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it and note the change in the archive.
Frequently asked questions
Which UK selected intercity corridor is the most delayed right now?
For the week of 12-18 July 2026, the most delayed route in this HSP sample was London Euston to Glasgow Central, with an estimated typical arrival delay of about 16 minutes and 73% of matched services behind schedule. Weekday HSP sample of 16 selected intercity flows, queried in both directions. Weekends and all other National Rail routes are excluded. 31 of 32 directional HSP queries returned data for this week.
How late are UK trains in this sample?
We ranked 4 selected intercity directions whose estimated median arrival delay was 10 or more minutes. The worst was about 16 minutes behind. This is not a whole-network National Rail ranking. Weekday HSP sample of 16 selected intercity flows, queried in both directions. Weekends and all other National Rail routes are excluded. 31 of 32 directional HSP queries returned data for this week.
What does this UK report cover?
Weekday HSP sample of 16 selected intercity flows, queried in both directions. Weekends and all other National Rail routes are excluded. 31 of 32 directional HSP queries returned data for this week.
How is UK delay measured here?
National Rail HSP provides performance-tolerance buckets rather than one public arrival timestamp per service. TrainAtlas derives an estimated median arrival delay from those buckets and shows the share five or more minutes late. A direction needs at least 25 HSP-matched weekday services to appear.