Passengers blast train delays, toilets and staff in new survey
8:10am Thursday 29th January 2009 in Search Module
FURIOUS rail passengers in Bolton have launched a fresh attack on poor train services.
Customers of TransPennine Express, which operates regional services, have recorded a long list of areas where they have complaints.
Among the biggest problems are delays, train toilets and availability of staff.
Northern Rail, which operates Bolton’s local services, also came under fire for its toilets.
The National Passenger Survey is carried out by Passenger Focus, the independent rail watchdog, and includes views of more than 26,000 people nationally.
The data was collected last autumn and has been compared to results in the spring of 2008.
Satisfaction with TransPennine’s handling of delays is down by 16 per cent to 39 per cent, while satisfaction with train station car parking has dropped by eight points to 43 per cent.
Only 51 per cent of passengers were satisfied with luggage space, down by seven per cent, and only 59 per cent were satisfied with the availability of staff, down by six per cent.
Satisfaction has also fallen with connections to other forms of public transport, upkeep of stations, ticket buying facilities, security, speed, information and helpfulness of staff.
Overcrowding on trains remains a problem, with only 63 per cent satisfied with seating room, down six per cent.
Northern Rail’s passenger satisfaction numbers fell for cleanliness, upkeep and repair of stations, car parking, environment, toilets and handling of delays.
Handling of requests by station staff showed the biggest drop, down by seven per cent from 83 per cent.
Overall satisfaction with service has increased by three per cent, however, to 82 per cent.
TransPennine Express’ customer service director Edith Rodgers said: “Our passengers are telling us that we have improved in a number of areas.
“We are also way ahead of the 74 per cent overall satisfaction score we achieved at the start of our franchise in 2004, but we need to improve the scores in all areas.”
A Northern Rail spokesman said: “It is encouraging to see improvements in many areas, particularly on train factors such as value for money for the price of your ticket and personal security whilst on board.
“We are delighted with these increases, but there is more that we want to do to improve services.
julian.thorpe@ theboltonnews.co.uk
