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Salkonen, Riikka: Measuring punctuality in railway traffic. Finnish Rail Administration,
Traffic System Department. Helsinki 2008. Publications of the Finnish Rail Administration A
15/2008. 114 pages. ISBN 978-952-445-251-9, ISBN 978-952-445-252-6 (pdf), ISSN 1455-
2604, ISSN 1797-6995 (pdf)
Keywords: railway punctuality, measuring, punctuality measurements
SUMMARY
Measuring punctuality in railway traffic has many different meanings. It can be used as
a quality measurement as much as in individual projects or in timetabling. Railway
punctuality has been measured in Finland since 1992. During the past decades the traffic
in railways has increased but not many changes have been done to indicators of
punctuality.
Nowadays customer management is increasingly more important in all fields and also
the railway actors have to be able to follow how the railway customers’ punctuality
changes from their point of view. While the development of punctuality measurements
in Finland has been slow, the situation is similar in the international field. In different
countries the methods for measuring punctuality are quite simple, concentrating solely
on measuring the deviation of scheduled stops and counting the percentage value of
punctual trains. Also, threshold values of punctuality vary between countries and
common uniform measurement methods are missing.
Punctuality measurement method that is used now in Finland has several weaknesses,
even though at the same time it has many good qualities. These characteristics have to
be taken into account when developing new methods for measuring punctuality in
railways. The new indicator of punctuality has to be able to answer the needs of
punctuality information users. To answer all of the listed factors, new, more diversified
indicators are needed. Those new indicators need to look at punctuality from a different
perspective than we are used to.
The developed method for punctuality measurements in this research gives railway
industry new possibilities to approach and measure punctuality. Different indicators can
be used together as well as separately as individual indicators. Customers and cost of
unpunctuality also get more attention in new indicators.