UK Train Travel Payment Practices: A Mixed Bag, But Better Than Average

The Numbers

• Average PaymentCheck Score for 11 UK Train Travel companies: 57.4/100
• UK Average PaymentCheck Score across all sectors: 50.0/100
• Train Travel sector outperforms the UK average by 7.4 points.
• Top payer: Merseyrail Electrics 2002 Limited - 85.14/100
• Bottom payer: Hitachi Rail Limited - 29.6/100
• Largest regional score: North West - 85.1 avg (1 company)
• Lowest regional score: South East - 46.6 avg (1 company)

What Stands Out

While the train travel sector beats the UK average for payment practices, the sheer range is notable. A 55.54-point difference between the best and worst payers signals major inconsistencies. That average hides a lot of potential supplier pain, which they can calculate using a late payment calculator.

Best Payers

1. MERSEYRAIL ELECTRICS 2002 LIMITED - 85.14/100
2. XC TRAINS LIMITED - 82.57/100
3. WEST MIDLANDS TRAINS LIMITED - 63.2/100
4. TRANSPORT UK EAST ANGLIA LIMITED - 62.23/100
5. THE CHILTERN RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED - 55.4/100

Worst Payers

1. HITACHI RAIL LIMITED - 29.6/100
2. UNIPART RAIL LIMITED - 46.6/100
3. PANDROL LIMITED - 50.7/100
4. SIEMENS MOBILITY LIMITED - 50.9/100
5. EUROSTAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - 52.6/100

Regional Patterns

The North West average of 85.1 looks impressive, but it's based on one company: Merseyrail. London's average of 51.7, pulling data from five businesses, seems more indicative of the payment reality for the sector, which isn't great. East Midlands and South East have data from only one company respectively, so do not show sector wide practices.

Suppliers working in the UK train travel sector should know, on average, companies pay 7.4 points better than the national average, but that the bottom payer, Hitachi Rail Limited, scored a concerning 29.6/100.