Published: Thursday, 31st January, 2008 12:05
First Great Western worst in the country
By Adam Hewitt
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TRAIN services to and from Reading are the worst in the country, according to new research.
The huge National Passenger Survey found that First Great Western (FGW) was rated the worst train operator by passengers, with only 74% of customers happy with its service. The national average was 81%.
Just four years ago, FGW had more satisfied users than any other rail operator in the South East.
But poor punctuality and overcrowded trains have seen passenger happiness plummet, and last week the company announced it was doubling compensation to season ticket holders and freezing ticket prices because of its terrible 2007 performance.
On Monday hundreds of commuters at 20 stations in the West Country wore cattle masks and handed out fake tickets in protest at unreliability, crowded services and high fares.
In nine key areas of the survey FGW customers reported a drop in quality since Autumn 2006, including attitudes of train staff, dealing with delays and train frequency. But 72% were satisfied with buying tickets at stations, up from 64% the year before.
Anthony Smith, of Passenger Focus, which commissioned the survey, said: “Passengers’ assessment of First Great Western’s poor performance comes in the wake of fare increases introduced in the new year and their feedback should be a serious wake-up call.”
FGW Chief Operating Officer Andrew Haines said: “It’s clear from the results of this survey that the deep-rooted performance issues on our network have affected levels of customer satisfaction and we are working hard with Network Rail to tackle these problems and to get more trains running on time.
“We are investing £200million to improve trains and stations and this work is already beginning to produce excellent results. Our entire high speed train fleet is now equipped with new engines offering double reliability and the programme to upgrade the interiors of our high speed trains is nearly complete.
"It is clear from the NPS figures that there is much work to be done and we are working hard to deliver these improvements quickly.”
Nearly 28,000 passengers were surveyed at 650 stations between September and December as part of the survey.
But South West trains continued to do well. In Spring 2003, it had the least satisfied passengers of any train operator in London and the South East, but has now leapfrogged the rest and is by far the best, say customers, with 95% approval.
Customers said they liked the improved capacity on the trains, but said the helpfulness of staff and the cleanliness inside the trains had plummeted since Autumn 2006.
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