28.04.16
Passengers must be at heart of rail upgrades – Transport Focus
Passengers’ needs must be paramount in current and future rail developments, Transport Focus has said.
In its 2016-17 workplan, the watchdog said that TOCs need to provide better information during planned and unplanned disruptions, such as the ones that hit the Southern rail line this week following a rail strike, and adequate compensation for passengers.
It also said that plans for upgrades at Waterloo and Euston should include lessons learned from the upgrades at Glasgow Queen Street, Reading and Bath.
Transport Focus added: “Longer term, the government and rail-industry planning processes for the 2019-24 spending period need to be radically re-focused on passengers – now the main overall funders of the day-to-day railway in England.
“Our ambition is that any planning process is judged by those passengers involved as being successful in understanding and listening to the passenger voice.”
David Sidebottom, passenger director at Transport Focus, wrote for RTM's February edition about the latest National Rail Passenger Survey.
(Image c. Gareth Fuller from PA Wire)