‘We’re paying too much’ say half of rail passengers

Jun 5 2007 by Paula Owens, Liverpool Daily Post

NEARLY half of all Merseyrail passengers think their train tickets are too expensive.

Forty per cent of travellers said they were not satisfied their tickets were the best value for money, in a survey published by independent consumer watchdog Passenger Focus.

The regional results mirror the survey’s national findings that just two in five train passengers think they are getting good value for money – the lowest ever score.

The National Passenger Survey revealed for the first time in three years that overall passenger satisfaction with rail journeys fell, down two per cent to 79% satisfied.

Merseyside rail passengers also criticised station cleanliness, with overall satisfaction with Merseyrail falling by one per cent to 88%.

Customer satisfaction with Northern Line services which link Liverpool to Warrington and Manchester airport dropped by three per cent to 77%, with criticism of car parking facilities and station staff.

Users of the TransPennine Express line linking Liverpool to Manchester and beyond are least happy with upkeep at stations and cleanliness, as well as car parking facilities.

Upkeep and repair of stations and ticket value for money was also criticised by Virgin West Coast passengers. The line links Liverpool to London Euston.

Passengers on the line from Liverpool to Birmingham also said standards had fallen in stations’ facilities and cleanliness.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said: “The train operators with the biggest drops in passenger satisfaction need to listen to their passengers and take action. We hope that this decrease is a dip and not the beginning of a trend.

“It is the larger train operators that have brought the overall ratings down. Satisfaction with First Great Western and First Capital Connect services has slumped.

“The Thames Valley services and former Wessex services provided by First Great Western have shown significant drops. Fourteen per cent of all rail journeys are with these operators. Northern Rail and First ScotRail passengers have also revealed that a number of their services have got worse.

“However, 87% of passengers travelling on long-distance trains are satisfied with their journey overall. Midland Mainline passengers have indicated that they have seen a number of improvements and the operator has climbed to the top of the long-distance sector.

“TransPennine Express’s investment in new trains has also boosted passenger ratings for train facilities with satisfaction for upkeep and repair of the train increasing by 25%.

“Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways and Central Trains have also worked hard to drive significant improvements in a number of areas.”

The survey was conducted at over 650 stations between January 22 and March 25, 2007.

paulaowens