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Transport investment must be ‘fairly weighted towards small stations’

Investment in transport infrastructure and passenger experience in London needs to be spread more evenly across the system and focus on small stations as well as medium and large ones, a new report has argued.

In the study, published by consumer champion London TravelWatch – about which the organisation wrote for the latest issue of RTM – TOCs were told more needed to be done to recognise the contribution of small stations to the network in the capital, as quality varied too much between the 183 stations within this category.

The report also stated that current systems for surveying customer satisfaction at smaller stations did not ensure their voices were listened to or acted upon consistently.

Basic standards should be set specifically to passenger needs at small station, the watchdog said, adding that increased staff presence from better funding could significantly contribute to passengers feeling safer and happier whilst travelling.

The report made a number of recommendations for TOCs. Companies should adopt specific guidance on standards at small stations, for example, and should work collaboratively with other TOCs to do this more effectively.

The organisation also argued that basic facilities should be improved at smaller stations, on top of the implementation of consistent standards and monitoring regimes at all stations.

“‘Small’ is only relative in the transport world. Any station with less than one million passengers a year is classed by London TravelWatch as small – the London Railway Area has 183 stations in this category, and passengers make almost 100 million journeys a year to and from them – nearly twice the number using London Bridge and nearly three times the number using Paddington,” the report stated.

“Yet these stations are more likely to suffer neglect than larger ones, despite their importance, as they rarely hit the headlines, some serving isolated communities with little other travel choices and sometimes they are just ‘small’ because they aren’t as good as they could be.”

London TravelWatch’s chair, Stephen Locke, explained that small stations often receive less investment than larger stations and are not necessarily eligible for funding programmes. 

“The quality of the passenger experience can vary quite significantly as small stations are not subject to a set of minimum standards,” he continued. “Resource constraints also mean that small stations are often left out of passenger satisfaction surveys – this reduces the incentive on train companies to improve passenger facilities at these stations.

“Our report shows that station operators could gain quick wins and raise satisfaction levels with relatively simple improvements such as regular and frequent cleaning, providing secure cycle storage and increasing the availability of clear and consistent travel information and signage.”

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