Press releases

National Passenger Survey Autumn 2007

24.01.2008

Great Britain's largest train passenger survey has found four out of five passengers are satisfied with their rail journeys, the independent rail watchdog revealed today.

Passenger Focus has launched the results of its autumn 2007 National Passenger Survey (NPS) which includes the opinions of nearly 28,000 rail users.

Passengers on Arriva Trains Wales reported significant improvements to its performance with an 85% overall satisfaction rating – up 5% on autumn 2006. Passengers said 10 key areas of the Arriva service had improved including frequency of trains, upkeep and repair of the train and the availability of the staff on trains. South West Trains also showed an improvement receiving an 85% approval rating, up 3%.

Maintaining their high passenger satisfaction scores were Gatwick Express (94%), Chiltern Railways (90%) and c2c (89%).

However, Anthony Smith Passenger Focus chief executive, said the research should be a wakeup call to those operators whose satisfaction ratings have dropped significantly. These include Heathrow Express down 8% (88%) and First ScotRail’s score fell 4% to 84% with passengers criticising the operator for its inability to manage delays.

First Great Western’s rating slumped 3% to 74%, but the company’s offer earlier this week to double compensation will go some way to showing passengers they are getting serious about delivering a quality service, but the proof will be when the trains arrive on time. GNER’s results dropped 5% to 82% and demonstrate how much trust the new owner, National Express East Coast, has to regain from passengers.

Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, commented: “Passenger Focus again calls for a fare freeze where performance has been poor – to penalise passengers with fare rises when train companies are not sticking to their side of the deal is simply not fair.”

The results also show across all train companies only 45% of rail users believe they receive value for money when travelling by train.

However, the Passenger Focus survey found 63% of passengers are satisfied with the amount of room they have to sit or stand, increasing from 60% on the previous year’s results. Improvements to ticket buying facilities at the station were also recognised with 70% of passengers rating these services as being good, up from 65% in autumn 2006.

The national findings show operators haven’t been able to improve toilet facilities with only 37% of passengers happy with conveniences on board and satisfaction with staff attitude and helpfulness during journeys dropped to 58% from 63% in the autumn 2006 survey.

Passenger Focus’ findings provide a network-wide picture of customers’ satisfaction with rail travel and it is the largest survey of its kind. Passengers rate each of the train operating companies on both station and train facilities provided.

The survey was conducted at about 650 stations between September and the end of November 2007.

Notes to editors

Aspects of rail travel that passengers say have become worse:

National ratings – issue	% satisfied or good	% change
Connections with other forms of transport	72	-1
The frequency of trains on that route	75	-2
The helpfulness and attitude of staff on the train	58	-6

Aspects of rail travel passengers say have improved:

National ratings – issue	% satisfied or good	% change
Ticket buying facilities	70	+5
Overall station environment	65	+3
Personal security while using the station	62	+3
Availability of staff at the station	57	+1
Value for money for the price of your ticket	45	+2
Information provided during the journey	65	+1
Sufficient room for all passengers to sit/stand	63	+3
The ease of being able to get on and off the train	77	+2
The cleanliness of the outside of the train	68	+1

1. Full results of the Autumn 2007 wave of the National Passenger Survey are available to download by following this link: National Passenger Survey Autumn 2007
- Over 25,000 passengers are surveyed for each wave of the National Passenger Survey. Two waves (spring and autumn) are conducted each year
- The National Passenger Survey provides a network-wide picture of passengers’ satisfaction with rail travel. Passenger opinions of train services are collected twice a year from a representative sample of passenger journeys
- Passengers’ overall satisfaction and satisfaction with 30 specific aspects of service can therefore be compared over time
- Fieldwork took place between September and the end of November 2007
- Ratings for each individual Train Operating Company are available, as well as ratings for each sector, i.e. London and the South East, long distance and regional operators.
2. Passenger Focus is the official, independent consumer organisation representing the interests of rail users nationally. Created by the Railways Act 2005, Passenger Focus is the operating name of the Rail Passengers Council. It is a body corporate, executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Transport. We want to make a difference for rail passengers. We’ll do this by:
- providing authoritative advice for the industry based on sound research
- securing improvements to rail services – both big and small-scale improvements
- helping passengers with advice and information
- campaigning for change and acting on passenger complaints

3. Media enquiries regarding this release should be addressed to:
Krista Hamblin
Press Officer
Telephone: 0870 336 6020
E-mail krista.hamblin@passengerfocus.org.uk
OR
Amy Stockton
Head of Communications
Telephone: 0870 336 6020
E-mail: amy.stockton@passengerfocus.org.uk