About 84% of rail passengers were satisfied with their journey, but a breakdown of satisfaction scores reveals wide variations between routes, according to a new study.
The National Passenger Survey (NPS) of 31,000 passengers by independent passenger watchdog Passenger Focus highlighted a breakdown of passenger satisfaction scores within each train company.
The survey was conducted between September and November 2010, and noted that on the best routes almost every passenger is satisfied, compared with only 72% on the lowest scoring routes.
The best routes were found to be Grand Central, Southeastern’s high-speed, Virgin Trains North Wales route and East Midlands' Norwich–Liverpool service, while the lowest scores were First Capital Connect's London-Bedford route, ScotRail rural services and National Express East Anglia main line routes.
Value for money scores are up four points after the suspension of fares increase in January 2010.
Two waves of the survey, spring and autumn, are conducted each year, the autumn survey shows an increase in overall satisfaction on East Midlands Trains where scores jumped 4% points to 88%.
Franchised operators with the happiest passengers were Merseyrail (93% satisfied), c2c (91%), Chiltern Railways and Virgin Trains (90%), and for open access operators, Wrexham & Shropshire had the highest rating at 96%, Grand Central (95%), Heathrow Express and First Hull Trains (93%).
Related links
UK Rail Planning – the Next 30 Years
