GET london midland. Passenger Dossier

Transcription

1 GET london midland 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 London Midland scored 47% coming 12th out of 19.

3 What London Midland can do Listen and respond to feedback to improve service for passengers. Specifically, to address: punctuality and information. Provide passengers with the mechanism to feedback online and ensure this is easy to find from outside the London Midland site. Make sure that the escalation process for dealing with complaints is clearly referenced when asking for passengers feedback. London Midland 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? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK. 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, 8% of comments were positive stories praising the services of London Midland. 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. Traveled from Crewe to Liverpool on several occasions. Excellent - on time & clean. Martin The service is slow & the buffet service non-existant. However the staff are always friendlier than on Virgin s express service to Rugby/ Euston. Charles I use the Lichfield City to Birmingham New Street Service (and return) once per month on average and, over the last two years or so, have not experienced any problems, aside from the occasional minor lapse in punctuality. I guess that I must be lucky! Doug 4. WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK

5 The onboard experience: 16% of comments related to passengers onboard experience. Crowding was a top issue across for passengers of many train operating companies, for you it represented 5% 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 London Midland 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 CrossCountry Trains related to cleanliness. I don t use the train that often but I have no complaints really except the lack of rolling stock at peak times. Standing all the way to London is a pain!! Off-peak usually no problems! Chris Disgusting toilets - either out of service, without toilet paper or overflowing from a water leak. This is not forgetting the loud, dirty and cramped interior of the trains! Oscar First class. What a joke on London midland. A scruffy little are at the end of a carriage. Narrow seats no tables no reserved seats. No refreshment service and no access to the lounge at the station and absolutely no service on the train.a waste of money. Mary On the return journey, the doors to the train were not opened until three minutes before the train left the station despite the gates being opened 30 mins before, leaving me and all the other passengers standing outside the carriages for half an hour. Claudia Overcrowded, people using mobile phones, ticket prices and punctuality! Returned to driving to work. James Could not get a seat on a train I paid 15 for a return and can t believe people have to pay 3000 plus a year to stand on a packed tin can for anything from half an hour to one and half hours! John WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK. 5

6 Punctuality: 49% of comments were about punctuality. While there are some factors, for example overrunning 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. Returning from a holiday in Austria we landed up in New Street Station. Just sat down when the lights went out. Waited for about half an hour before an announcement told us the train was cancelled. No driver! John The train was over 45 minutes late, and the usual excuse is obstruction on the line which is always their excuse. I was so angry I got my money back and caught the bus. Lynne I used to get the 7.32 train from WFJ to EUS. For the first two weeks of January the train was on time just once but because it was often less than a five minute delay the train company doesn t have to record it. A five minute delay on a 20 minute train journey is a big delay! These delays are pretty standard for London Midland. Robyn I haven t kept an accurate record but trains are frequently delayed and sometimes cancelled for a wide range of reasons: my rough estimate is that around 50% of my journeys are disrupted. Sometimes the excuse is vague, e.g. late arrival of the incoming train other times it is more specific: broken down train problems with overhead power. David Continually cancelled trains with varying excuses but the general consensus has been that they are short of drivers but won t admit it! David Poor train punctuality...and having trains delayed on the main line north out of B ham New St owned by Virgin and because their trains are delayed London Midland take theirs off so that Virgin can catch up! Gary Train cancelled without warning resulting in complete ruination of plans for the day. alan I could fill a book with horror stories of my experiences since privatisation. Most involve the failure of companies to cooperate with each other - so because one company fails to wait even 30 seconds for what used to be a connecting train my journey is delayed by several hours. And the companies do everything they can to avoid paying for alternative transport. I ve found myself paying a taxi fare of 50 after a failed connection (with 30 minutes between the trains) with both companies involved blaming each other. David 6. WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK

7 Punctuality: The punctuality on my line (Cross city) is less than poor. I live in Lichfield and use the train for my daily commute into Birmingham. The train I catch in the evening (17:25) is frequently between 8-15 minutes delayed leaving and always loses time on the way. Results in a very uncomfortable journey as train is packed. I catch an earlier train in the morning than I really need to as it is slightly more reliable. Lichfield commuters pay the most for the service on the line (my season ticket is 1080 per annum) yet we have the worst service as when trains are delayed, they terminate the service two stops before Lichfield and leave their Lichfield passengers stranded with no alternative means of travel. Despite many letters of complaint and trying and failing to get my disinterested MP involved nothing has changed and service gets worse. hannah There are well documented problems with punctuality - but I very much appreciate that trains are now much less frequently terminated at Barnt Green - which is really inconvenient because there are no station facilities there and no links to other public transport. JEnny Unexpected cancellations, serious delays, and the ludicrously expensive cost of travel between Watford and London for the privilege of standing if/when the train arrives. Jim They train at least two/three times a week are delayed for something. They use the excuse that signal failure, but you hear that there are not enough staff on. This does not help me at the end of a long day when all I want to do is be at home with my family. abdulla Constant delays and cancellations on Redditch to Birmingham line. If there are delays of more than 15 minutes trains to redditch are cancelled even though they continue to run the in between trains to other stations. Prices increase, service degrades. Not enough seating capacity at peak times. Customer service team refuses to acknowledge delays/cancellations, even telling me that a service hadn t been cancelled and refused repay my even though I was sat on the the train as it was cancelled. adrian As I work flexible hours due to the nature of my job, many of these are hours I could have worked and been paid for had I known in advance to wait for the next train! As decisions seem to be taken seconds before, and I can arrive at the station to be greeted with the message train on time, to find a second later that it is running 20 mins late because they have a shortage of drivers - I am generally left wondering at what point the driver left the train and the sure knowledge that being a train commuter I am no longer able to plan my life! CaThy WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK. 7

8 The onboard experience: I have been commuting to work and back from Redditch to University Station Birmingham for just over a year - five, sometimes seven days a week. In that time I have rarely known a train arrive at the scheduled time on my return journey which varies from lunchtime through to 23.00hrs. Many times due to the lateness of the trains a decision has been made to suddenly dump all passengers at a station on route, usually Barnt Green - before the train becomes single track - to try and make up time, despite the fact that we have already been kept waiting 45 mins to an hour to get the train in the first place. Barnt Green is an unmanned station, with few facilities, and great for standing around in the pouring rain, when the next train along - which we could have just waited for in the first place at a station with better facilities - is also running late! Longbridge is another favourite for dumping passengers, and is manned, but this situation now occurs with such alarming regularity that staff manage to disappear with amazing speed, and keep well out of the way until irate customers disperse. This is particularly worrying when the train is full of schoolchildren who have no idea what to do and can t get hold of their parents who are working. Despite the regularity of these issues, there are rarely coaches laid on in advance or contingencies for such occasions. Most of the time even getting hold of staff by phone sheds little light on what is going on and a range of excuses are provided, which vary dependent on who you are speaking to. On a number of occasions even the automated announcement service appears to go into overload, and you are simply left guessing as to which train will next appear at the station. The compensation is laughable, and a pain to have to scan your ticket to get. Given the fact that they are able to keep you waiting up to half an hour without any compensation at all - imagine how many of my hours have been wasted over a year without any recompense whatsoever! Cathy Trains are frequently delayed or cancelled. There are often signal failures, a lack of train staff, or incidents. Trains are often cancelled or delayed because it is too wet too cold too dry. Sl Used London Midland to travel Worcester to Birmingham International for long-haul flight. Train stopped due to signalling failure. Abandoned train to find taxi at unmanned station. No staff, no information on buses, taxis. 100s of people stranded without help. Eventually, got a taxi firm s phone number from a local. Taxi got us to airport just in time to check in. Asked LM for refund of taxi fare and compensation for stress and inconvenience. They quoted National Conditions and sent a voucher for single train fare to be used against future travel. I complained to Cheif Exec of LM. He passed complaint back to Customer Services who said I should have taken a train timetabled to arrive at least 90 minutes before recommended check-in time at airport three hours before flight departure. So it was OUR fault and no further compensation. We could have left home an hour later by car as we live only 34 miles from airport with good motorway connection - next time we will! Paul 8. WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK

9 Communication: 16% 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. Generally good services although it s hard getting seats at busier times. Much weaker when there s a problem on the line - very poor info, no sign of staff at Euston and apps aren t updated with info. Shaun I needed to book for the next day. Any on-line service invited me to go to a station machine. Ledbury my departure station has not got one but Worcester Foregate Street does. It was not clear whether this was permissible. With no ticket I arrived at Ledbury where there is a Permit to travel machine encouraging me to purchase a ticket as near to full fare as possible. This involved me using all my coins. Fearing prosecution I went ahead to be told by the Train Manager I need only put say a 1 in. All of these problems were worrying and certainly off putting for travelling by train. Chris I boarded the train on Saturday 15th February 2014 at London Euston around 1900hrs and when it was due to leave there was an announcement that the driver hadn t turned up and the train would leave in 15 to 20 minutes. After the train left Euston and was approaching Northampton, it was announced that it was terminating there (with no explanation why) and that it would be necessary to transfer to another train to complete the journey (to Birmingham New Street). Iain Not unique to this train company, but the cunning idea of getting you to complete a claim form on board for delays, you feel they are doing something and promptly forget. If you chase you do not get a reply. To date I have not receive any compensation, however I kept the form reference this time and will not be letting go! liz I commute to Birmingham daily. The trains are regularly late. When there are real problems - power failure, flooding, etc etc. the lack of info is appalling. Boards show that there are no trains and then one appears. This happens regularly. Is it really so difficult to keep the customer informed? Or even better run the trains promptly? Ros This week (Tuesday) travelling from Wolverhampton to Stone (Staffs), changing at Stafford we were told (at Stafford) that our train (18.44) would not be stopping at Stone but carry on direct to Crewe.Passengers already on would be put off at Stafford and when numbers were known how to get them to their destination would be considered. These are not regular trains... one hour or two hourly durations. After a long wait I gave up and spent on a taxi, my fare was 5.55! John WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK. 9

10 Ticketing: Many passengers are confused by over-complicated ticketing systems and frustrated by ticket machines. 8% commented about tickets. I was given first class tickets from Stoke on trent to London as a 60th birthday present. My daughter who bought the ticket thought that she was buying a first class service and was very disappointed to find that first class on London Midland is no different from the normal rail travel - no refreshments at all on the train - no reserved seats - no luggage space except for the overhead racks! Claudia There have been numerous times when vouchers have been unaccepted for no reason or problems with tickets. oscar My experience of London Midland and Virgin is that it was extremely difficult to get the tickets that we required from Birmingham New Street to London Midland at the cheapest price. natasha 10. WHICH? GET LONDON MIDLAND TRAINS ON TRACK

11 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 London Midland 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