A satisfaction survey of rail companies carried out by Which? has found ‘low levels of customer satisfaction’ with commuters feeling ‘let down by delays and overcrowding’.
The Which? survey of all the major train operating companies found the overall customer score across all types of journey ‘low at just 48%’.
Commuter journeys scored the lowest, with an overall customer score of 44%.
Journeys taken for leisure measured slightly better with an overall score of 53%.
There was a wide-range of scores across the train companies. Virgin Trains came out on top with a customer satisfaction score of 64%.
Bottom of the table was Southeastern, scoring just 40%. Overcrowding and high fares were cited as key issues along with delays and cuts to services.
Which? also found that 20% of all rail journeys taken gave cause for complaint but only 8% of customers who had reason to complain actually did.
50% of people who did complain were ‘unhappy with how the complaint was handled’.
Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said:
“This is a far less representative survey than the research carried out every six months by independent watchdog Passenger Focus. Which? questioned less than a tenth of the number of people surveyed by Passenger Focus, whose results show that more than five out of six passengers are satisfied with their service.
“Train companies are attracting record numbers of people to the railways and over the last few years, more and more people have said they are satisfied with the service they get.”
