‘Passengers are saying the quality of rail services is improving,’ says Passenger Focus chief executive, Anthony Smith.
‘The combination of increased income from fares, government investment and a clearer focus on performance and dealing with disruption is beginning to pay off.’
Passengers across Great Britain have reported record levels of satisfaction with train service, 85 per cent overall, with no operator scoring less than 80 per cent. Many train companies and Network Rail areas have made noticeable improvements.
East Coast is now level pegging with Virgin at 92 per cent overall satisfaction. Greater Anglia, with still a long way to go, has improved markedly and is now much more firmly placed among its peers. Chiltern, moving many commuters every day, reaches 91 per cent. First Hull Trains has bounced back to a healthy 95 per cent and Grand Central leads the whole pack with 96 per cent overall satisfaction.
‘However, more work needs to be done. Satisfaction on individual routes still varies widely from 76 to 97 per cent,’ says Smith. ‘Satisfaction with value for money nudged up by one per cent (to 47 per cent), with individual operators varying between 29 and 75 per cent.’
