National Rail Passenger Survey reveals satisfaction with train operators in the north 'at an all-time low'

Northern and Transpennine Express both rated poorly in the National Rail Passenger Survey after its latest findings were released today.
NorthernNorthern
Northern

Satisfaction with the main train operators in the north is at an 'all-time low' according to independent transport watchdog Transport Focus.

The survey of 28,000 rail users included 2,000 passengers who had used a Northern or a Transpennine service in the past year.

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Just 72 per cent of Northern customers were satisfied with their most recent journey - the same figure as in 2019, when their rating was the lowest since the poll began 20 years ago.

Transpennine saw a small improvement in satisfaction from 73 to 79 per cent.

Perhaps the most shocking finding from the survey is that just 34 per cent of Northern passengers were satisfied with how well the company dealt with delays.

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Both franchises remain rooted to the bottom of the national rankings table.

Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said:-

Passengers tell us that their biggest priority is rail services they can rely on to actually get them to work or home on time. When that doesn’t happen, it impacts the rest of their lives. Poor scores for how delays were handled show that passengers still aren’t getting the help they need when facing disruption.

“Northern and Transpennine Express passengers have suffered for a long time now. Enough is enough. We welcomed yesterday’s announcement of Delay Repay 15 compensation for TransPennine passengers - and we remind everyone to claim whenever they are delayed - but something must be done to restore reliability to the railway in this area.

“We want to hear from the operators and Network Rail how they intend to get services back on track.”

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Transport Focus will use the evidence from the survey as it continues to push for wide-scale reform of the industry, and immediate improvement in reliability for the worst-affected areas.

Transpennine announced this week that passengers can now claim compensation under the Delay Repay scheme if their train was just 15 minutes late.

Northern's satisfaction ratings (in per cent)

Overall satisfaction: 72. Value for money: 54. Punctuality/reliability: 65. Information provided during the journey: 64. Delay response: 34. Level of overcrowding: 70.

Transpennine's satisfaction ratings (in per cent)

Overall satisfaction: 79. Value for money: 55. Punctuality/reliability: 66. Information provided during the journey: 78. Delay response: 47. Level of overcrowding: 57.

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