‘Decade of disappointment’ on trains

Passenger satisfaction with punctuality and reliability of the UK’S rail network has dropped over the last 10 years, while trust has plummeted and fares have spiralled, a report has claimed.

The analysis by Which? of official Transport Focus data found overall passenger satisfaction with punctuality and reliability had fallen by six percentage points over a decade, from 79 per cent in 2008 to 73 per cent this year. Only 23 per cent of people said they trust train travel companies, making rail the least trusted consumer industry apart from car dealers.

Meanwhile rail fare prices have increased by 40 per cent since 2008, more than oneand-a-half times higher than the rate of CPI inflation for the same period. For commuters, satisfaction in those areas was even worse, falling by 10 percentage points over the same period from 72 per cent to 62 per cent.

Peter Vicary-smith, chief executive of Which?, said: “With persistent poor service, delays, cancellations and the hassle of getting compensation for their journeys, it’s unsurprising that trust in the rail industry has been consistently low and is only getting worse. “Passengers expect increased satisfaction to come with the hike in their ticket prices, not a decade of disappointment and unprecedented disruption like many have faced this year.”