Snow:how has the transport network performed?

It would be fair to say that compared with the meltdown in Christmas 2010, the transport network has performed far better over the last few days.

Heathrow did get far more passengers away than it did last time round. But in 2010 the airport was operating on one runway for four days and with Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt in serious trouble as well, gridlock was inevitable.

Airlines were also lucky that this time round less snow fell than in 2010 and the cold snap came during a quiet time of the year, when there were plenty of seats available which made shuffling passengers around rather easier,

There was also far more kit available to clear the snow. For example there were 130 vehicles rather than 61 and 510 staff on shift rather than 117.

Even at its worst Heathrow managed to operate 63 per cent of flights rather than only five per cent.

But for thousands of passengers, the last few days have been trying. Questions have been asked why Heathrow and airlines did not cancel flights in advance of the bad weather when they met on Thursday.

Privately some airlines admit that this could have been a mistake, while others believe that there was enough slack in the system to cope.

Perhaps had more flights been cancelled early, managing the weather – which was worse than expected – would have been easier.

However while the aviation industry could have done better, more serious criticism should be levelled at local authorities and train operators.

On the roads while major roads were kept clear, there seems to have been a reluctance to spread grit on minor roads and pavements.

A particularly damaging statistic was reported by the London Ambulance Service which reported a spike in the number of calls it received because of people slipping and injuring themselves.

Commuters, especially around London, have had a miserable few days despite the investment in technology to keep lines clear.

But once again the train operators' efforts to keep passengers informed were abject with websites and mobile phone apps triggering a wave of frustration on social networking sites.

Given that this was identified as one of the big problems a couple of years ago, one might have hoped for some improvement.

Alas there was none and this is something which the rail regulator can and should look at especially given that there are now powers to impose fines on companies which fall short.