People making middle or long distance trips by rail in the UK are happier with their journey than most of their European neighbours, according to new analysis of EU research into passenger satisfaction.
The ‘Eurobarometer’ survey, commissioned by the European Commission, measures the satisfaction of 9,000 passengers from 25 EU countries across a range of 19 criteria, including cleanliness and upkeep of stations, ease of buying a ticket, service frequency and punctuality and reliability.
New analysis of the polling by the Association of Train Operating Companies shows:
- UK rail passengers making middle or long distance journeys were more satisfied than German passengers on all 19 criteria. The UK also scores higher than France in 15 and above Italy in 14 of the criteria measured.
- The UK is above the EU average in 17 out of the 19 aspects of train services surveyed.
- 87% of UK rail passengers were satisfied with reliability and punctuality – 35 percentage points higher than in Germany, 24 percentage points higher than in Italy and 21 percentage points higher than the EU average.
- 84% of UK passengers are satisfied with the frequency of trains – 10 percentage points higher than Germany and 12 percentage points higher than the EU average
- 92% of UK passengers were satisfied with the length of journey time – 13 percentage points higher than France and the EU average.
ATOC attributes the UK’s strong results to significant improvements that have been made to services, trains and stations in recent years and a focus on the needs of passengers.
The figures provide an interesting insight alongside the more substantial National Passenger Survey, carried out twice a year by the independent watchdog Passenger Focus, which shows that over four out of five passengers are satisfied with the services that they get.
ATOC spokesperson Edward Welsh said:
“There is often a widespread perception that the rest of Europe is happier with their rail services than are UK passengers. But the European Commission’s opinion polling shows that the people surveyed in the UK were more satisfied with their train services than in many other countries on the continent.
“Significant investment in recent years has seen quicker and more punctual trains, better stations and an improved overall service for passengers in this country – something which has been reflected in successive independent customer satisfaction surveys.
“In terms of how passengers view middle and longer distance services, we now know that we also compare favourably with our European neighbours.
“But train companies can’t be complacent and will continue to work hard to address areas where we know that improvements need to be made.”
