Southeastern and Southern are voted country’s worst
Passengers have voted Southeastern and Southern the two worst train companies in Britain.
In a Which? survey of all 25 operators, Southeastern, which serves most of Kent, came second from bottom at number 24 and Southern Railway, which has been dogged by disputes and strikes, came last.
Southeastern scored only 39% for satisfaction and Southern Railway limped home with 28%. Both received only two stars for not having enough seats or standing space, and the condition of carriages.
Both were also given one star – the lowest mark possible – for value for money.
The survey, released on Tuesday, comes after both announced record rises in the cost of tickets.
Commuters complained about “hellish” and “awful” journeys, rude staff, dirty carriages, shortened trains leading to a lack of seats and above-inflation fare hikes.
Southeastern scored slightly better, with three stars, for the frequency of its trains, while Southern scored two stars.
It also beat Southern – which serves Sussex, Surrey and a small part of Kent – for reliability and punctuality, which both gained two stars.
But neither came close to top performer Grand Central, which scored 64% in the satisfaction survey and a consistent four stars in all categories.
Translink NI Railways came second with 62% and Virgin Trains West Coast came third with 61%.
A spokesman for Which? said: “Commuters generally have little say over when they travel to work, and with which train company.
“It is therefore vital they claim compensation when their train is delayed.
“Not all train companies make it easy to get a refund in the event of late-running or cancelled trains, so Which? is campaigning for automatic compensation for rail passengers.”
Southeastern runs 2,016 passenger trains on weekdays, 1,755 on Saturdays and 967 on Sundays making it one of the biggest and busiest National Rail operators in the country.
Its franchise is set to end in December, and the Department of Transport is currently inviting bids to run the service.
Southern’s contract expires in September 2021.