Hull Trains tops passenger satisfaction table

Hull Trains has topped passenger watchdog Transport Focus’ Autumn 2015 National Rail Passenger Survey, with 97% of passengers claiming to be satisfied with their experience.

Other non-franchised train operators also did well, with Heathrow Express scoring 95% and Grand Central 93%. Of the franchised operators, Merseyrail topped the table with a satisfaction rating of 93%, followed by Chiltern and Virgin Trains West Coast on 91% and ScotRail on 90%.

The biggest increase in satisfaction compared with a year ago was recorded by Transport for London Rail (up nine percentage points to an 85% rating), followed by First Hull Trains and ScotRail.

Only two operators experienced a decline in their rating. The rating for Gatwick Express (now part of Govia Thameslink Railway) fell by eight percentage points to 80%, while East Midlands Trains’ rating fell from 88% to 84%.

On a national level, Transport Focus says the slight increase in satisfaction to 83% (compared with a year previously) has “started to reverse previous declines”. However, it warns that performance is variable.

While on average 83% of passengers claimed to be satisfied with their experience, for commuters that figure falls to 76%. By contrast, 85% of business and 90% of leisure travellers say they are satisfied. And passengers are pleased with their trains and journey times, with 81% and 83% happy with those aspects of their journeys.

At stations, 87% of passengers who asked station staff questions were happy with how they were treated; 83% were pleased with provision of information on train times and platforms; and on average 81% of passengers were satisfied with the station they boarded from.

However, less than half of those surveyed were happy with onboard toilet facilities, delay management, staff availability and value for money, although all three aspects showed marginal improvements on the autumn 2014 ratings. At stations, fewer than 50% were happy with seating availability and provision of shops and catering, while exactly half were satisfied with car parking facilities.

The survey also examined the biggest impacts on passenger satisfaction, with 36% of passengers rating punctuality and reliability as the single most important factor, followed by onboard train cleanliness (21%). In terms of dissatisfaction, 56% of passengers said the way train companies deal with delays is the single biggest cause of ire.