Rail service improvements and disruptions

Progress for passengers but more improvement needed, ORR say

Good progress has been made in customer service along the railways, but more improvement is needed with harder work form the industry, a consumer group of the ORR has said.

In a report from Consumers, Stephanie Tobyn, deputy director, said highlights such as all 17 train companies committing to the ORR’s challenge to introduce a price guarantee is a “significant step forward” in improving customer experience for rail passengers.

Research also shows that passengers using assisted travel find it a good service, with 85% of those booking assistance travel stating they were satisfied with the level of service received.

 Areas where the industry has failed to deliver, however, include that over two-thirds of potential users are not aware that the assistance service is available. “This further highlights the importance of ORR’s ongoing work with companies to take forward improvement and focus will remain on the development of revised guidance for train and station operators in how to provide assistance to passengers,” said Tobyn.

Another area of concern identified by Consumers is the provision of timely and accurate information to passengers— information provided to passengers through journey planners and ticket buying systems is “at times is unreliable,” and subject to late change.

Consumers have written to and are meeting with all train companies and ticket retailers to explicitly set out the requirement for passengers to be given up-to-date information irrespective of the operational challenges that they may be facing.

All information found by Consumers is in their annual consumer report ‘Measuring Up’.

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