Delays are greatest cause of rail complaints

DELAYS are by far the biggest source of frustration for rail passengers, official figures show.

A report from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show ‘punctuality’ and ‘reliability’ of services generate almost a quarter (23 per cent) of complaints.

This is almost three times more than the next most common grievance – ticket machines and kiosks – which caused 8 per cent of disputes.

The figures, covering July to August last year, showed the number of complaints per 100,000 journeys – or the ‘complaints rate’ – dipped 2.2 per cent from the same period the previous year to 28.7. But some operators saw a surge in disputes. Complaints to Virgin Trains East Coast have more than doubled in a year – rising 114 per cent. It received 142 complaints per 100,000 journeys. The ORR stressed one reason for the rise was the low rate in the same quarter in 2016.

In this case delays did not register as a major problem. Instead, almost a third (30.1 per cent) were about the state of the facilities on board.

Alex Hayman of consumer group Which? said: ‘Train companies still aren’t adequately dealing with the vast majority of ... passengers’ complaints.’

A Virgin Trains spokesman said: ‘In the most recent independent survey by the industry watchdog...over 91 per cent of Virgin Trains customers rated us as providing a good service.’

‘Still not adequate’