Rail passengers give Scotrail the thumbs up

At 90 per cent, Scotrail's passenger satisfaction is back to its normal high levels, according to a new poll.
At 90 per cent, Scotrails passenger satisfaction is back to its normal high levels, according to a new poll.At 90 per cent, Scotrails passenger satisfaction is back to its normal high levels, according to a new poll.
At 90 per cent, Scotrails passenger satisfaction is back to its normal high levels, according to a new poll.

The findings were revealed in Transport Focus’s latest National Rail Passenger Survey, which measures satisfaction of more than 27,000 passengers.

Key areas for Spring 2017 compared with 2016 included: overall satisfaction increased significantly by three percentage points from 80 to 83 per cent; Overall satisfaction on punctuality and reliability increased by four percentage points from 73 to 77 per cent; and no train company’s overall satisfaction declined significantly from Spring 2016.

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Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: “This latest increase in overall passenger satisfaction, when compared with Spring 2016, are welcome to both me and to passengers.

“These results are evidence the actions implemented through ScotRail’s Performance Improvement Plan, which was in place during the survey period, have been reflected in customer opinion.

“This is a good example of Transport Scotland working with the ScotRail Alliance to drive up performance for passengers and we expect this to continue moving forward While Scotland’s railways compare well with the rest of other UK operators, it is important ScotRail not only meets customer expectations but also strives to deliver improved services, trains and facilities across Scotland.

“I am particularly pleased to note a significant increase with passengers overall satisfaction with how well Scotrail deals with delays.”

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Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog, said: “It is good news that after poor results in autumn last year, passengers in Scotland have seen improvements in satisfaction this Spring.

“After a concerted effort to improve punctuality, ScotRail are now back to their former high scores. They fared particularly well with how they dealt with delays – an increase of 11 per cent on Spring last year.”

Areas for improvement for ScotRail highlighted by the survey include car parking facilities at the station (down by 12 percentage points).

Transport Focus surveyed 27,290 passengers, across Great Britain. 1243 of these were ScotRail passengers. This latest NRPS was conducted between January 30 and April 30 this year.

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The NRPS is the largest published rail passenger satisfaction survey in the world.

Carried out twice a year, it provides the latest snapshot of passengers’ satisfaction with different aspects of their train service.