South West Trains said they welcomed news that passengers had once again rated its services highly, but acknowledged that ‘further work needed to be done to improve the approach to dealing with delays and disruption’ on its network.
The latest National Passenger Survey, carried out in the Spring by Passenger Focus, showed that 85% of passengers were satisfied with their South West Trains’ service.
The results of the survey also show that passenger satisfaction has increased in a number of areas.
In particular, South West Trains’ ongoing multi-million station improvement scheme has resulted in some significant increases in satisfaction with station facilities.
83% of passengers said they were satisfied in this area, representing a 5% year on year increase, which is significantly higher than the London & South East average of 78%.
South West Trains say this reflects the ‘significant investment made on this equipment across the network including customer information screen and help-point renewals and new Station Departure Boards’.
Satisfaction with ticket buying facilities at stations improved to 70%, marking a 3% year on year improvement.
This area has seen an investment of £12 million to deliver 450 new ticket vending machines at stations across the network.
Satisfaction with the upkeep and repair of South West Trains’ stations increased by 4% year on year, whilst facilities and services provided at stations also scored highly, up 5% year on year.
In general, passengers were more satisfied with the environment provided to catch their train, with a 4% year on year increase in this area.
However, the survey also found that satisfaction with the way South West Trains handled delays decreased by 9% year on year.
Just a pity that their fares are obscene, and most of their station staff are rude and unhelpful to the point of being almost obstructive!!