Improving rail performance is a key objective for the Department and joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and National Express East Anglia (NXEA) to address performance issues. The most recent published Public Performance Measure (PPM) figures are those for the period from 6 January to 2 February 2008 when NXEA’s PPM was 89.1 per cent. The NXEA moving annual average was 90.1 per cent. These compare to whole industry figures of 89.6 per cent and 89.6 per cent. respectively.
The Department’s rolling stock plan, published on 30 January, showed NXEA receiving an extra 188 (new and cascaded) carriages. The new carriages will be used on the London to Stansted airport route, in turn releasing carriages to enhance capacity on other services.