A survey of 25,334 rail travellers published on 5 June 2007 by Passenger Focus, the independent national rail consumer watchdog, shows that overall passenger satisfaction with rail journeys has fallen for the first time in three years – dropping two per cent down to 79% satisfied. The results of the National Passenger Survey, the biggest rail passenger survey, show that only two in five passengers (40%) think they are getting good value for money when they travel by train - the lowest ever score on this measure. More than one in four (26%) passengers are unhappy with the amount of room they have to sit or stand.

Passengers said their experience was worse on 11 of the 30 key criteria which they were asked to rate. The biggest drops were on how well the train company dealt with delays, toilet facilities, and sufficient room to sit or stand.

Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus, chief executive said; “The train operators with the biggest drops in passenger satisfaction need to listen to their passengers and take action. We hope that this decrease is a dip and not the beginning of a trend. It is the larger train operators that have brought the overall ratings down. Satisfaction with First Great Western and First Capital Connect services has slumped, with overall satisfaction on these operators dropping 6% and 5% to 72% and 71% respectively. The Thames Valley services and former Wessex services provided by First Great Western have shown significant drops. 14%, or millions, of all rail journeys are with these operators. Northern Rail and First ScotRail passengers have also revealed that a number of their services have got worse. However, 87% of passengers travelling on long distance trains are satisfied with their journey overall. Midland Mainline passengers have indicated that they have seen a number of improvements and the operator has climbed to the top of the long-distance sector. TransPennine Express’s investment in new trains has also boosted passenger ratings for train facilities with satisfaction for up keep and repair of the train increasing by 25%. Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways and Central Trains have also worked hard to drive significant improvements in a number of areas.”

The survey was conducted at over 650 stations between 22 January and 25 March 2007.