Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Kent train firms rated UK’S worst
The two main train companies serving Kent have been rated the worst in the UK by passengers, it has been revealed.
Southeastern Trains and Southern Trains both scored just 69% for overall customer satisfaction in the latest Passenger Focus survey - the joint lowest.
And in terms of reliability and punctuality, Southern and Southeastern finished bottom and second-bottom respectively, with satisfaction ratings of 53% and 56%.
This marks a sharp drop for Southeastern from 67% in January and 72% in 2014.
Unsurprisingly, customers do not think they are getting value for money, with just three in 10 Southeastern passengers happy about the cost of their tickets.
Southeastern says a number of factors hindered the overall quality of the service over the period the latest survey was undertaken, between January 11 and March 20.
A spokesman said: “There was the partial collapse of the sea wall at Dover – scissoring part of the network – and landslides at Barnehurst, which closed a main line into London for nearly a week.
“Storm Imogen also hit services and there were infrastructure failings around London Bridge – which is undergoing a complete rebuild.”
Southeastern says its improv- ing the Kent Integrated Control Centre, which manages how trains run, improving real-time information.
David Statham, managing director of Southeastern, said: “The latest National Rail Passenger Survey figures are a snapshot of a very difficult period for Southeastern passengers last winter.
“The survey was undertaken during the winter months when severe weather and infrastructure issues meant we were not able to give our passengers the services we want to provide and that they rightfully expect.
“Together with Network Rail, our job is to improve reliability, and I want to reassure our passengers that is what we are completely focused on.
“We have worked very closely with Network Rail to bring about a number of improvements since then.
“These include investing in more frontline employees and in track infrastructure in the areas where major disruption is most likely to occur.”