Southern Rail and Gatwick Express passenger satisfaction best for seven years

Passenger satisfaction with Southern Rail services is at its highest level for seven years, according to an independent survey by national passenger watchdog Transport Focus, published today.

Satisfaction with Southern rose 8 points year-on-year to 82% in the autumn 2019 survey. Sister company Gatwick Express is also at a seven-year high, at 89%, and Thameslink has risen 4 points, to 82%.

Passengers were also much happier with punctuality and reliability, again particularly on Southern (see editor’s notes), where 70% of trains today arrive within 60 seconds of their scheduled arrival time at each station along the route.

Passengers rated Southern and Gatwick Express staff very highly, with satisfaction rates of 88% and 93% (a massive 16-points increase) respectively, reflecting a drive towards more proactive customer assistance.

Southern and Gatwick Express Managing Director Angie Doll said: “Our passengers are telling us through this independent survey that we have really turned a corner, with the best satisfaction for seven years.

“Passengers clearly rate our people highly and they are responding positively to the quality of our trains, the free Wi-Fi onboard and our investment in new technology such as smart ticketing. A separate independent survey also shows that trust in Southern has been climbing steadily for two years.

“However, I know we have much more to do, especially with our partners at Network Rail, to further improve punctuality.”

John Halsall, Managing Director for Network Rail, said: “We know that the most important thing for passengers is a punctual and reliable journey. These scores reflect the hard work taking place with our partners, the train operators and our efforts in Putting Passengers First.

“We recently devolved greater responsibilities to our teams across the Southern region and this is ensuring closer working between our partners to improve passengers' travelling experiences.”

ends

Background

The Transport Focus report can be read here www.transportfocus.org.uk/research-publications/publications/national-rail-passenger-survey-nrps-autumn-2019-main-report/. Its headline figures reveal the number of passengers satisfied or very satisfied with train companies..

Southern operates trains between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)

• The report reveals an 8-point rise year-on-year in overall passenger satisfaction on Southern to 82%, which builds on the 2-point increase the year before. This is the best result since autumn 2012 when another score of 82% was recorded; the score was last bettered in autumn 2011 when the result was 83%;
• Satisfaction with the stations has risen 5 points year-on-year to 80%;
• Satisfaction with station staff and the way they handle requests rose 7 points year-on-year to 88%;
• Satisfaction with the trains has risen 7 points year-on-year to 75%;
• Passenger satisfaction with punctuality and reliability on the route has risen 7 points year-on-year to 73%. The most recent figures show that 70% of trains arrived within 60 seconds of their scheduled arrival time at each station along their journey.
• Smart ticketing: Southern’s Key Smartcard can now be used at almost all its stations and also across the Southeastern network, offering the following passenger benefits when compared to travelling with a paper ticket:
• -time-saving: no queues at the ticket office and a simple tap in, tap out to speed journeys;
• -more secure: lost smartcards can be instantly cancelled and replaced;
• -automatically-generated Delay Repay claims: submitted with just a click of a button (on GTR Key Smartcard only*)

Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

• The report reveals a 2-points rise in overall passenger satisfaction on Gatwick Express to 89%. This is the best since autumn 2012 when the figure was 90%.
• Satisfaction with the stations has risen 6 points year-on-year to 83%, building on the 6 points increase last year;
• Satisfaction with station staff and the way they handle requests rose 16 points year-on-year to 93%;
• Satisfaction with the trains has risen 1 point year-on-year to 92%, building on the 6 points increase last year; Gatwick Express runs a fleet of recently-introduced Wi-Fi-enabled air-conditioned trains.
• Passenger satisfaction with punctuality and reliability has also risen 3 points year-on-year, to 85%, building on the 7 points increase last year;

Thameslink runs trains across London between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/Littlehampton/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks.

• The report reveals a 4-point rise in overall passenger satisfaction on Thameslink to 82%
• Satisfaction with the trains has risen 4 points to 82%; Thameslink operates one of the newest trains in the country with new services and 2,000 extra commuter seats from Cambridge into London introduced in time for this survey and more weekend trains afterwards.
• Passenger satisfaction with punctuality and reliability has also risen 3 points, to 69%.
• Easier payments: Contactless payment cards can now be used to travel to stations as far away from London as Luton Airport Parkway
• Investing in stations: £15m is being invested in stations across the network with early commitments to provide life-saving defibrillators at every location as well as many further upgrades requested by passengers and stakeholders. Overall satisfaction with Thameslink stations has risen 3 points to 82%.