The majority of rail passengers are experiencing delayed, dirty
or overcrowded train journeys, according to new research by
consumer champion Which?
The scale and breadth of issues that rail passengers face has
been laid bare in a recent survey by the consumer champion, which
is now calling on the next Government to ensure all passengers
are provided with better services.
In the survey, carried out by Populus on behalf of Which?,
passengers were asked what problems they had experienced taking
trains over the last six months.
More than half of people (53%) said they couldn’t get a seat due
to overcrowding at least once, with one in seven (15%) of people
saying that this occurred to them regularly.
Delays are also a big problem, with most people (51%)
experiencing train delays of up to 15 minutes and around one in
ten (12%) saying they had faced frequent delays.
Half of passengers also said that their carriage was dirty or
littered at least once, while one in five (20%) of those asked
said that they weren’t able to access any toilet facilities on a
long train journey on at least one occasion.
However, many passengers do not trust that rail companies will
put things right when their services fail - only two in five
people (43%) trust the train company to handle their claim for
compensation fairly.
There has also been a significant shift in consumer trust in the
rail industry, which has fallen 11 percentage points in the last
year, from 37% in March 2016 to 26% in March 2017*.
The research also found that most people don’t know how to
complain. Two thirds (67%) thought they could go to the “rail
ombudsman” if they were unhappy with the way their complaint was
dealt with, even though there is currently no ombudsman for rail.
Thousands of passengers have contacted Which? to share their poor
experiences during train journeys.
“Too many to mention - cancelled trains - trains curtailed - no
trains to route that I usually use and every day in the morning
mass overcrowding with fights on some days to squeeze further in
- animals are treated better.” – Jerry
“My wife and I have written to complain on a number of occasions.
In some instances we have had a response but on other occasions,
nothing.”- Phillip
Ahead of the election, Which? is calling on the next Government
to hold train companies to account for poor passenger services in
its ‘Consumer Agenda for Government’.
This includes establishing a mandatory, statutory Transport
Ombudsman that all train companies and airlines must join to help
manage passenger complaints with their services.
The powers and duties of the Office of Rail and Road must also be
strengthened, so that it more clearly puts the rights of
passengers first.
The need for action is backed up by consumers, with one in five
people (20%) believing rail should be a key priority for the next
Government.
Alex Hayman, Which? Managing Director of Public Markets, said:
“The rail sector is failing passengers on too frequent a basis.
People believe that improving rail services should be one of the
top priorities for the next Government, which isn’t surprising
given the numerous stories we have heard about constant delays
and overcrowding that many people face on a daily basis.
“The next Government will need to quickly step up and ensure that
passengers are getting a much better standard of service. Trust
can only begin to be restored by introducing an independent,
statutory ombudsman, and a stronger regulator that stands up for
passengers.”
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:
CASE STUDIES:
“It's unacceptable, I'm not getting the train for free and I'm
not asking any favour! I'm paying an expensive ticket to get a
horrible service.”-Fabiano
“Written complaint sent 30th December. No acknowledgement or
response. No response to email. telephone and told "at least” a 3
month delay in dealing with complaints. Couldn't even say whether
received as not being scanned onto system for "at least 2
months".”- Janet
RESEARCH:
Populus, on behalf of Which? interviewed 2,095 people between
10th and 12th March, 2017. Of those 880 people had used rail
services at least once in the previous six months. The research
was carried out six months after the Consumer Rights Act was
extended to travel. Data was weighted to be demographically
representative of the UK population.
Consumer Insight Tracker: The Which? Consumer Insight Tracker is
a nationally representative online poll of around 2,000
households conducted every two months. Results are routinely
published on the first Tuesday of the following month at
http://consumerinsight.which.co.uk/. The latest results are for
March 2017.
Populus, on behalf of Which? interviewed 2,130 UK adults online
between 19th and 20th April 2017. Data was weighted to be
demographically representative of the UK population. People were
asked to pick up to three consumer issues from a list provided
that they believed the next Government should prioritise.
The Which? ‘Consumer Agenda for Government’ was published on
Saturday 29th April – it calls for a Transport Ombudsman and new
powers for the rail regulator to hold train companies to account
for poor passenger services. Full report available here:
www.which.co.uk/consumeragenda.
