Overall satisfaction was 79%, the lowest level since 2008. Poor punctuality, timetable chaos last summer and a series of strikes appear to be to blame for deteriorating satisfaction.
The survey gathers feedback from more than 25,000 passengers.
Operators with the lowest ratings were Great Northern (68%) and Northern (72%). South Western, TransPennine and Greater Anglia were also in the bottom five, each scoring 73%, with Southern ranked sixth-worst with a 74% satisfaction score.
Topping the rankings was Heathrow Express on 96%, followed by Grand Central (94%), Chiltern Railways (92%), Merseyrail (90%) and Virgin Trains (90%).
“Our latest survey confirms passenger satisfaction has fallen to a 10-year low. Government and the industry must continue to focus on performance. In the longer term the Government’s Rail Review must bring about fundamental change,” says Anthony Smith, Chief Executive of Transport Focus.
Grand Central, which received a 94% ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ satisfaction score, welcomed the findings.
“We are delighted to have scored so highly in the latest National Rail Passenger survey,” says Richard McClean, Managing Director at Grand Central.
“We’re always looking at ways we can add to and improve our services. It’s our commitment to listen and take on board customer feedback so that we can make a real effort to understand what they want and deliver the quality service they expect from a train operator,” he adds.
