The South West region has been named worst region in Britain for train delay costs according to new research.

Business owners lose an estimated £235 million annually in lost working hours due to train delays which is an average of £157.02 per worker per year

The average commuter loses eight working hours per year to delayed services, adding up to a whopping 1,548,282 working days lost annually to train delays

Workers from the South West face the highest annual delay burden, losing an estimated 14 hours annually.

Train delays are costing British businesses an estimated £235 million a year in lost working hours, according to new analysis of commuter rail data, examining delays on some of Britain’s busiest commuting routes.

Analysis of commuter rail journeys has found that workers in the South West, lose the equivalent of almost two working days (14 hours) annually to delays.

The study analysed publicly available rail performance data for specific station-to-station commuter routes during peak travel periods, plus government data on people arriving at stations by the hour combined with regional salary data to estimate the hidden economic impact of disrupted commuting.

When combined with regional earnings data, money.co.uk business loans experts estimate this translates into a productivity cost of approximately £240.96 per commuter each year.

The findings suggest train delays represent a substantial but often overlooked cost to employers, reducing productive time across the economy and disproportionately affecting regions with high commuter dependency.

Matt Browning, money.co.uk business loans expert, said: “Train delays are often discussed as a passenger inconvenience, but when viewed at scale, they represent a measurable economic drag. Every delayed commuter journey compounds into lost working hours across the economy.

“When hundreds of thousands of workers are repeatedly delayed during peak commuting hours, the cost to business quickly becomes significant.”