Rail travellers at their unhappiest for five years: Fewer than one in three passengers on worse performing lines are satisfied with the service
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- Fewer than one in three commuters on Britain's railways are satisfied
- Dissatisfaction is soaring as three quarters are unhappy, study found
- Biggest decline in satisfaction was with punctuality and reliability
- Rail chiefs apologised and admitted they ‘must do better’
Passenger satisfaction with the railways is at its lowest for five years, a report said yesterday.
Fewer
than one in three commuters on Britain’s worst performing railways are
satisfied with their expensive, delayed and overcrowded services, it
said.
The
number is ‘significantly down’ compared with a year ago – while
dissatisfaction is soaring as three-quarters (77 per cent) are unhappy,
it concluded.
And for millions of commuters the published timetable is simply ‘a work of fiction’ because so many trains run late.
Passengers
are being ‘let down’ by rail bosses – many cashing in big bonuses -
against a background of soaring fares, poor punctuality and overrunning
engineering works, it said.
Nationally the rail watchdog’s report noted: ‘The biggest decline in satisfaction was with punctuality and reliability.’
Passenger
Focus said the overall satisfaction figure of 81per cent – with one in
five dissatisfied - was the lowest performance for more than 5 years.
The last time it was that low was in Spring 2009. Before that, the
lowest figure was 79 per cent in 2007.
The
report said the biggest impact on overall satisfaction was punctuality
(38 per cent), followed by cleanliness inside the train (18 per cent),
and speed of journey ( 8 per cent).
The
biggest impact on dissatisfaction came from how train companies deal
with delays , with more than half (54 per cent) citing this. After than
comes punctuality and reliability (14 per cent), and overcrowding (7 per
cent).
Rail chiefs apologised and admitted they ‘must do better.’
Worst
value for money is South West Trains’s suburban services – dubbed by
one leading MP as the ‘sardine line’ - and on Abellio Greater Anglia’s
mainline service where just 29 per cent of people said they were
satisfied.
The
Stansted Express won just 32 per cent satisfaction, as did the Gatwick
Express and South West Trains’ service from Portsmouth to Waterloo.
Tucked
just behind them with just 33 per cent ‘value for money’ satisfaction
rating is South Eastern’s Metro service, followed by its high speed
service (34per cent) and Govia Thameslink’s Great Northern route, (35
per cent).
Worst route for punctuality is Govia’s Thameslink South route with only just over half (56 per cent) satisfied with performance.
Passengers
feeling most overcrowded with standing room only (48 per cent) are on
Abellio Greater Anglia’s Metro service (43 per cent). Govia’s Thameslink
South service manages just 48 per cent. But South West Trains commuter
routes to London (54 per cent) and mainline services (59mper cent) are
also among the worst for passengers feeling the squeeze, as is London
Overground from Richmond to Clapham Junction and Stratford (51 per
cent).
Midlanders
feel the crush on London Midland’s commuter route to the capital (58
per cent) and on Cross Country services from Birmingham to Manchester
and the South Coast (both 59 per cent).
The
damning evidence was published in a 60-page report by official consumer
watchdog Passenger Focus following its survey of 27,000 passengers
Overall,
one in five travellers say their train journey leaves something to be
desired, with just 81per cent expressing satisfaction with their journey
when questioned last autumn – a drop of 2percentage on the previous
autumn. And study did not include the Christmas period, when trains into
London King’s Cross were seriously disrupted.
Lowest
scoring train operators overall were Govia Thameslink and Southern
(both with 77per cent) and Southeastern (74per cent). Southeastern’s
overall satisfaction score fell 11percentage points compared to a year
ago, while Cross Country’s dropped 4 percentage points.
By contrast, the highest-scoring operators were Heathrow Express and Grand Central, (both 94per cent) and Chiltern (93per cent).
Anthony
Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said: “Rail passengers’
satisfaction is driven by getting trains on time. Many are being let
down - fare increases, billions in Government investment and promises of
improvement don’t seem to be delivering change on the ground.
He
said; ‘Passengers do not care who is to blame for things going wrong
and for some of them the timetable is a work of fiction. If it really is
the case that better day-to-day performance can’t be achieved, then an
honest, open debate is now needed so that passengers might be able to
trust the promises made by the industry again.’
el
Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group, representing rail
operators and Network Rail, said: ‘These results show how passenger
satisfaction has been dipping after years of steady improvement and they
reinforce our determination to do better.
‘The timetable is our promise to passengers, and too often we aren’t making good on this commitment.’
