GET SOUTH WEST TRAINS ON TRACK. Passenger Dossier

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1 GET SOUTH WEST TRAINS ON TRACK Passenger Dossier

2 The Which? train survey is conducted annually via an independent poll of 7,415 members of the general public. The survey asks about overall satisfaction over the last 12 months and also asks the likelihood to recommend the brand to a friend. The combination of these scores gives our customer ratings. Passenger satisfaction with trains is low across the board, but people rarely complain to the operators. In our latest trains survey South West Trains scored 45% coming 15th out of 19.

3 What South West Trains can do Listen and respond to feedback to improve service for passengers. Specifically, to address: punctuality, crowding and onboard experience. Provide passengers with the mechanism to feedback online and ensure this is easy to find from outside the South West Trains site. Make sure that the escalation process for dealing with complaints is clearly referenced when asking for passengers feedback. South West Trains social media accounts should advertise the hours they are staffed and complaints raised via social media should be recorded the same as complaints raised by other means. WHICH?. 3

4 Passengers stories This dossier provides a selection of the hundreds of consumer comments, positive and negative, that we have received since launching the campaign. The satisfied passengers: Passengers didn t just share their complaints with our campaign, 5% of comments were positive stories praising the services of South West Trains. We want to work with you to make sure more of your passengers have positive stories to share, for one TOC 46% of comments we received were positive. Generally pretty good with trains on time. Improving their communications by using and twitter. mike I travel occasionally, not a regular commuter, but the train is always clean and warm, the staff friendly and it s almost always on time. On those occasions when it isn t, it s generally a fault that is not under their control - signalling, track side issues or a person ill/accident. I rate South West Trains highly. Clive No complaints, on time, special cheap weekend fare. MJ The trains are generally on time and are fairly frequent. I could take the tube from where I live but the train is more reliable and less crowded. Monca 4. WHICH?

5 The onboard experience: 48% of comments related to passengers onboard experience. Crowding was a top issue for passengers across many of the train operating companies, for you it represented 32% of comments. We received complaints of packed trains or, in some cases, of people not even being able to get on at all. On their last journey with South West Trains 12% reported they had to stand. It was also disappointing to hear customers reporting that some train companies are falling down on the basics of customer service, for example dirty carriages and toilets that don t work. 3% of comments about South West Trains related to cleanliness. crowding I am pleased with the number of trains going to London Waterloo from Basingstoke but I do wish they would put on more carriages on trains that they know will be crowded such as first train that can be used with off peak tickets, particularly in school holidays, late trains back from Waterloo in the evening. We nearly always have to stand on such trains and as pensioners this is no joke. Christina South West Trains have some very awful trains on the Portsmouth-London line. It s a long and slow journey but half the trains have bench seats where there are no arm rests, the seats are bolt upright and you sit squashed in against your neighbour. The seats are so uncomfortable that I avoid them and have a list of the other half of the trains which have better seating. Mark Increasingly, short trains are arriving even during the busiest times of the rush hour. Also increasingly, door problems. If a door won t close properly the train cannot move. This has occurred several times recently and once caused a delay stretching to nearly an hour. Conclusion: Insufficient, and poorly maintained rolling stock presumably due to lack of enough staff. On the plus side the long suffering train guards and (few) ticket office personnel I have dealt with have been exemplary. Tony I take the train between Richmond and Waterloo every weekday. Its constantly overcrowded at commuter times with no signs of improving. I expect Southwest trains to improve capacity and service. Colum Awful. Only one train an hour to London, overcrowded uncomfortable carriages. Often only I ve had to stand twice in two weeks and given I pay for a first class ticket, I think this is terrible service. Kate three carriage train from Exeter to Salisbury where extra carriages are added. The reverse happens on the return when extra carriages are taken off leaving just three carriages to Exeter which are often overcrowded with people standing unable to find a seat. Trains are slow, the in service refreshment trolley is overpriced and antiquated. Most of the line is just single track. The carriages are old and cramped. Richard In the 15 years I have been a rail commuter with South West Trains I have witnessed three people pass out due to overcrowding, while staff ignored them, countless WHICH?. 5

6 The onboard experience: journeys where I have arrived over an hour late (bearing in mind the journey is meant to take 18 minutes) and in that time the ticket prices have increased by more than inflation year after year. All we get is hollow pathetic excuses time after time and they wonder why there is so much ill will toward them! Nick Trains from Clapham Junction to Brentford in morning rush hour are often only four coaches long rather than the usual eight; makes for an horrific experience - WHY? Karl The train is often overcrowded especially on the way home, many people have to stand for large parts of the journey. Justin Overcrowding is appalling in the rush hour, really unacceptable how it feels that prices can continue to rise and true customer satisfaction and comfort is bottom of the list of tasks to invest in. Tom Cleanliness I have been commuting for 20 years from Andover to London Waterloo. Every year I take part in a customer survey. Every year I complain about the state of the loos. It is always ignored. There is no excuse for this as other operators (GNER) have good facilities. They are filthy, stink and have not been refurbished in the 20 years I have been travelling with them. i have written, tweeted, phoned but no response except the standard letter. Over the last 20 years I have spent over 60,000 with them, you would think that would merit a response? Diana Bathrooms never look particularly clean, and look like they need refurbishment. Justin Other onboard stories I get disheartened knowing from past experience, if there is going to be room to take your bike on the train or not. Which means you cannot rely on it to go to work. Please bring back carriages for bikes... Another problem, I am too petite to be able to reach to lift my bike up on those hooks to support your bike on. Trains are no longer bike friendly. Caroline When I commuted from Godalming to London Waterloo 15 years ago, the London Waterloo to Godalming took 31 minutes. The fastest train today is 47 minutes. How can train companies boast about their improved service when their trains are 50% slower. Brian The service provided by South West Trains is 19th Century. The trains are late, packed and information given on delays, problems, etc. is never consistent...all in all a shocking, frustrating, poor excuse of a service. I would happily utilise another method of transport but I have no choice. Their guards, station staff are more interested in the morning paper or listening to the radio than helping their clients. They often 6. WHICH?

7 The onboard experience: reduce the amount of carriages on trains or provide a revised timetable in order to avoid compensation. Disgusting behavior and I feel powerless to do anything about them. Rene I regularly tweet about my experience on South West Trains. I commute to London daily from Guildford on an early (6.24am) train which is regularly overcrowded when I board. Despite pleas to South West Trains to increase the carriages from five I get inadequate excuses why this is not possible. I have even ed South West Trains customer relations team but am still waiting for a response after four weeks! This train has become busier and busier in the last few years and now needs to be longer but South West Trains aren t listening to passengers. Some days the train arrives back to front, with the first class carriage at the rear rather than the front. Thus results in passengers running up and down the platform to board their particular carriages within the one minute the train is scheduled to be in the station! And rarely us there a reason given for the farcical service. My annual season ticket will cost me close to 4000 when I renew in a few weeks time. It is not unreasonable to expect a seat and better service for that money. Peter I used to pay 5 return for British Rail to take me from Havant to Waterloo in 55 minutes each way. South West trains take closer to 1hr 15mins, offer no internet connection and charge twice as much as Southern for a return to London. Michael WHICH?. 7

8 Punctuality: 33% of comments were about punctuality. While there are some factors, for example over-running engineering works and the weather, that are beyond the control of train operating companies, Network Rail estimate that train operating companies are responsible for around a third of delays. For the particular route I travel regularly (Waterloo-Chertsey via Weybridge) the connections are poor. Generally the connection on the return route in the evening fails regularly by two to three minutes, which leads to a 30 minute wait for the next train. I have spoken to at least four or five of the train guards on the Chertsey leg to ask why there are always problems on this leg, and the answer is never the same, although a common complaint is the train passengers, who are too slow at boarding...(which, I suppose is the only factor the guard has any control over!). It would seem to me that there isn t enough emphasis on trying to understand every train delay, and also no central strategy to fix and reduce delays. In general the staff are always very apologetic, but unfortunately apologies do not enable me to reach work on time... Antoinette There were delays to my train, which I suspect the rail company knew about before I bought my ticket. I paid 99 to arrive in London before 10:00am, I arrived at 10:30am, and should have arrived 8:50am. Paid the premium but didn t get the service. My experience and real niggle with South West Trains relate to two days earlier this year when the temperature dropped to around 0 and there was a little bit of ice. This caused South West Trains to stop running for about three to four hours on each occasion as the ice on the live rail stopped trains. For this I get no compensation as it is weather related - but the weather was insignificant - and to me South West Trains and Network rail should expect there to be ice in England in the winter and should be able to cope. But then maybe I am being really unfair!? I mean its not like most other countries (Swiss/ US etc) can keep transport running in more extreme weather conditions! Nick I moved to New Malden at the start of December of last year and have been traveling into Waterloo for nearly three months now and only on two occasions has my train left New Malden on time and arrived at Waterloo on time, less than one journey as advertised per month! Alex In a space of a four week period I was made late for work 14 times of a considerable amount of time (20mins+) when complaining with the conductor his response was 97% of their trains are on time so couldn t see why I was complaining! Whitley The train is always so late getting out of London and through Reading that I always miss my change. On Christmas eve, when many trains were cancelled, they failed to provide any connecting services to allow people to complete their journeys past a certain point, meaning a four hour wait on Christmas eve at Swindon. I started crying on a packed train which was embarrassing but luckily meant I got offered a lift home, 8. WHICH?

9 Punctuality: but it was horrible and poorly thought out - a replacement bus in the least would have been one solution, rather than just make everyone wait for a connection that, when it arrives, may be too busy to even board. EMIly The last few weeks has been somewhat of a nightmare, commuting from Winchfield to Waterloo and back each day. Firstly, South West Trains made the decision to extend their car parks at Fleet & Farnborough my usual stations and can no longer park at these stations - why at the same time and months of work? Secondly, trains have been cancelled, constant delays, rarely can you get a seat and the cost of a monthly ticket has nearly doubled over the last five years. I had a three hour journey last week - usually 55 minutes, having to change at Woking, then go to Basingstoke and back to Winchfield. I have empathy with the recent weather - but the information provided by South West Trains should be so much better. MIKE Price is ridiculous and delays get prolonged leading into 45 to 60mins. This has repeatedly been going on for more than eight months now. It is most painful how they always wants to mitigate the delays they have always worse it by asking us to alight before our own station and wait for another train which usually another seven to ten minutes. This has persisted and happens more frequently at the very busy time. That s on London to Reading route. Please help stop this dumb means of solving the delays. AdEOlUWA If the guard sees a dozen or so passengers darting out of the (late) 8:50 arrival at Eastleigh, desperately trying to make it across the bridge to catch the 8:54 to Winchester, could he be instilled with enough common-sense and public-spiritedness to hold the train until the passengers get on board! This isn t one or two random commuters who think the world should revolve around them, but HALF THE PASSENGERS on the commuter train EVERY MORNING! It s ridiculous. Passengers have to stand as close to the doors as possible to ensure that they have the best chance of making their connection. A Blitz spirit has emerged in that whoever gets to the train first tries to linger in the doorway so that the next commuter can get on board, and so on. This is no way to treat paying customers! That the train with the vital connection is given less precedence than the Brighton train (which is not under such tight time constraints) does not aid the punctuality of the service. Furthermore, there are no announcements from the train drivers (who one presumes are better informed than the average commuter) Presently any passenger wishing to make this connection has to assiduously watch the station clock and weatehr conditions try to WHICH?. 9

10 Punctuality: second-guess whether their chances are best served by alighting at Eastleigh or Southampton Airport Parkway. Repeated letters of complaint have achieved no results or even acknowledgement that the problem exists. I wish your campaign more success than has currently been achieved by the (almost always late) 8:40 from St Denys and Swaythling. Jacob I commute between Tisbury and Clapham Junction five days a week, spending four hours a day on South West Trains. Between two to three out of five days my train in the morning is delayed by more than ten minutes. And at least one to two evenings a week the return journey is delayed. Often by as much as a half hour. For the high ticket price (over 600/month) the quality of service offers poor value for money. Robin The train is regularly late arriving into London and seems to be getting slower, it takes two hours to make a 90 mile journey. With two other passengers and a private vehicle e.g. taxi we could arrive in around the same or less time, for less money and greater comfort. justin 10. WHICH?

11 Communication: 6% of comments related to communication. Numerous passengers told us that simply not knowing what was going on was more frustrating than the delay itself. And although our research found few people do complain, those who do are often left dissatisfied with the process. INFORMATION 1. The train stops, but there is no information offered on why. 2. You are told that due to problems that they must terminate at the next station and there will be buses to take everyone to a station beyond the problem. When you get on the platform you learn that the only person left a few minutes ago, but no one has thought to organise others. 3. Why can t they get even the simple things right? GEOFFREy At Twickenham waiting for a train to Wimbledon after a Quins rugby game the train was showing as five minutes late arriving then this became 12 minutes then finally 20 minutes late we got on the train to then be told at the next stop that the train was going non stop to Waterloo & not stopping at Wimbledon so we had to get off & wait for the next one. Bring back a joined up rail network rather than these companies who are only interested in profts. TERRy Being sold the wrong ticket - in spite of saying we wanted the same as the one before - and discovering on the train and having to pay again with no refund. FIONA COMPlAINTS HANdlING Trains cancelled and significant delays today due to cancellations caused by signalling problems at Clapham Junction. Not only were they very late arriving but they were so over crowded one person fainted and had to be helped off at the next stop. When I asked about compensation I was told I had to wait two months to see if it was classified as a void day when a percentage of trains were over 40 minutes late. Their customer services couldn t tell me what the percentage was. AbbIE WHICH?. 11

12 Ticketing: Many passengers are confused by over-complicated ticketing systems and frustrated by ticket machines. 6% commented about tickets. Tickets are rarely inspected - once at most between Bournemouth and, for instance, Waterloo with any fine rarely imposed should they actually come across someone with no fare. Why do I bother to buy a ticket, I increasingly ask myself. Complaints to the company are met with the usual meaningless customer relations-speak. RONNIE When I travel to London from Epsom I can use Waterloo, Victoria or London Bridge. Waterloo uses South West Trains and the other two Southern Trains. For a long time I could purchase a standard off-peak return ticket to London and use any of the three stations. Then someone told me a few years ago that if I went to Victoria it would be cheaper than Waterloo. I checked with the ticket office and the difference was about 30p. However, I decided to use Victoria instead of Waterloo. I used to enjoy walking along South Bank, but I could try to enjoy Victoria Street because I almost always went to Westminster Central Hall for a meeting. I have watched the difference in the ticket price to the stations as the prices have increased each year and last year it was 6.90 and Understandable. Then, when the prices went up this year, I checked again this week just in case they had become the same. NO THEY HAD NOT. Southern Trains (Victoria and London Bridge) are now Waterloo is now HOWS THAT FOR A MASSIVE PRICE HIKE, 7.50 TO 9.20? RICHARd I wanted to travel between Portsmouth and Gatwick. The main route had engineering works. Another short route available meant changing at Guildford. However, no ticket was available for this route, I had to buy two separate tickets for each stage of the journey, which was dearer than travelling into London and then back out to Gatwick. THOMAS Ticket machines charge a higher cost and not all journeys are easy to locate particularly if there is a change required. London zones are not clear to the user. Most frustrating is when ticket barriers will not accept your newly purchased ticket. TERI 12. WHICH?

13 Conclusion The responses we ve received - and support for our get Trains on Track campaign - only provide a snapshot of passengers concerns about their daily rail journeys. However, the sample of comments provided underlines how strongly passengers feel about these issues and why we d encourage you to respond. What South West Trains can do now outline to us how you will address our findings by sharing the actions you intend to take over the coming year to improve passenger satisfaction; in particular how you will pro-actively encourage, listen to and respond to feedback, improving services for customers. How we can help We can share your plans directly with our members and supporters, as well as working with you on the details of changes, helping to announce those changes and supporting your communication with current and future passengers. For further details about the Get Trains On Track campaign visit: WHICH? GET CROSSCOUNTRY TRAINS ON TRACK. 7