MERSEYRAIL has been placed at the top of a league of rail passengers' satisfaction published by the consumer association Which?, but most operators have scored significantly less than they do in a larger survey carried out regularly by the statutory watchdog Passenger Focus.
Eight out of 10 passengers told Which? that fares are too high, but 53 per cent said they wouldn't mind paying more if they saw an improvement in service in return, while 49 per cent would tolerate higher fares for a more reliable service, and 48 per cent said they would pay more to have a guaranteed seat.
Which? compiled the views of more than 7,500 passengers, and reached what it described as the 'shocking' conclusion that 11 of the 19 operators surveyed scored 50 per cent or less in general satisfaction, with Abellio Greater Anglia and Southeastern scoring 40 per cent. Merseyrail headed the table with a score of 70 per cent.
Which? said that 16 per cent of passengers had experienced a delay on their last journey, a figure which rose to 26 per cent for commuters, while 21 per cent of commuters said they were 'likely' to have stood during their last journey.
One in ten (11 per cent) said on-board toilets were not in good working order – this rose to 17 per cent on First Capital Connect, 19 per cent on Southeastern and 20 per cent on London Midland.
Which? said it was encouraging passengers to make formal complaints to operators and also share their experiences on its website. The consumer group said it would then forward a dossier of complaints to each train operator.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “It’s disappointing to see some train companies consistently falling down on the basics of customer service, with dirty and overcrowded carriages and toilets that don’t work.
“Seven rail franchises end in the next two years and we want to see passengers’ experiences put right at the heart of the tender process so companies respond to consumer expectations and can be held to account if they don’t.”
First Capital Connect, one of the criticised operators, responded to the survey by promising to pay attention to the opinions expressed, but pointed out that not all delays and problems can be solved by operators, because network maintenance and performance are the responsibilities of Network Rail.
A spokesman for FCC said: "We are disappointed, especially after the far larger National Passenger Survey showed overall satisfaction scores of 79 per cent, but we listen to all feedback and are taking steps to deliver what passengers want.
“Since this survey was carried out we have frozen our 25 per cent-plus weekend and bank holiday discounted tickets and launched a further 10 per cent off online sales in January to give passengers better value for money.
“We’ve unveiled a new train that will address overcrowding on our routes and completed a deep clean of the carriages we have now with a £350,000 investment in extra staff and equipment.
“We have also worked hard to improve the reliability of our services with specific teams focused on time-keeping. However, their efforts have been derailed by repeated issues with the tracks, signalling and power equipment that – put simply – we do not maintain."
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents the views of all operators, commented: "As we acknowledged last month when the independent watchdog’s far more comprehensive survey found that more than four out of five passengers were satisfied with their overall journey, the industry needs to build on the improvements it has delivered over the last 15 years.
“We are always keen to get feedback from customers, whether good or bad."
The twice-yearly National Passenger Survey, carried out by Passenger Focus, collects the views of more than 50,000 passengers.