Business travellers are benefiting from improved punctuality in the rail sector in 2011, according to information published on 27 October by Réseau Ferré de France. The rail infrastructure manager reports a rate of 90% for punctual trains - with a delay of less than 5 minutes - a slight improvement over one year. RFF goes further in its analysis, and details the main causes of the delays observed, broken down into three categories. We learn that 37% of delays are linked to external factors, i.e. delays due to foreign networks, accidents, intrusions, malicious acts or other bad weather. This proportion is roughly equivalent to that of the railway companies (35%), including - of course - SNCF, while the infrastructure manager is blamed in 28% of cases, for faults, traffic management problems or works. Finally, a figure that may surprise more than one passenger: industrial action is not responsible for the slightest delay (0%), due to the absence of strikes during the 1st half of the year.
