GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY ON TRACK. Passenger Dossier

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1 GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY 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 Southern scored 46% coming 13th out of 19.

3 What Southern Railway can do Listen and respond to feedback to improve service for passengers. Specifically, to address: punctuality, tickets and crowding. Provide passengers with the mechanism to feedback online and ensure this is easy to find from outside the Southern Railway site. Make sure that the escalation process for dealing with complaints is clearly referenced when asking for passengers feedback. Southern 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 SOUTHERN RAILWAY 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, 5% of comments were positive stories praising the services of Southern. 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. I only use the service once or twice a month between Watford Junction and Clapham Junction (occasionally to East Croydon). The trains are invariably on time and you are even allowed to use the first Class seats on a Standard Class Ticket. I have a Senior Pass, so I am usually travelling outside of computing times of the day or at the weekends. rex Brilliant! Dead on time (they mostly are and when they aren t there s usually a very good reason), clean comfortable quietrunning coach, sensible price. Dramatic improvement vs poor old British Rail. David Admittedly as a pensioner I try to avoid the rush hour which I imagine is the source of most complaints. However my experience of Southern is much better than your survey would suggest. Cleanliness: Generally clean but too much newspaper litter after the morning rush hour. Frequency: Just at adequate at four trains per hour; six trains per hour would be a significant improvement and should be the minimum standard for a Metro service. Punctuality: Not good recently because of the bad weather, but generally OK. Room for passengers: OK outside rush hour; inadequate in rush hour. Value for money: As a Freedom Pass user excellent :-). Mike Very good, punctual clean trains. Son lost his water bottle on Lewes Station, a manager for Southern heard our conversation as he was travelling on the same train. He ensured that the bottle was found and returned on our return journey. Julia My journeys are generally not too bad. Trains have been reasonably on time. Ken Overall on time with few holdups. Tony I travel quite regularly on Southern trains from Eastbourne to Victoria and I have found the experience to be really quite good. The ticketing system is efficient and if you book in good time, cheap. The trains run punctually and are clean with an onboard service for drinks etc. (this for an one and half journey). The on-board staff are pleasant and helpful. I think this represents good service. Deirdre Southern trains are generally clean and reasonably punctual. Southern have the most modern air conditioned rolling stock. Paul 4. WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY 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 9% 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 Southern 14% reported they had to stand. crowding Had to stand on my last train journey from Rye to Brighton, train consisted of just two carriages and I had nowhere to put my luggage. Chris Seats during commuter times are very hard to come by - making at the start/end of a twelve hour day even more exhausting. Kerstin Train dangerously over crowded!! People packed in tight, frightening! Nowhere to sit, no real room to stand safely. This was NOT a peak hours train. Pauline Nowhere near enough space for everyone during rush hour, especially with the new carriages. robert My biggest problem - is that in the heart of rush hour, Southern still put on trains with only four carriages. Which means maybe half the people on the platform might be able to force themselves on, and the rest of us are left waiting even longer for the next late train. Why, when the lines are so busy, would you put a four car train on the line where a ten car train is needed? Marianne Every weekday evening I catch a train from Gatwick to Eastbourne at We are crammed into four carriages (train is normally 12 coaches with eight going to Littlehampton and four to Eastbourne) and train is dangerously overcrowded. As my season ticket is nearly 2,000 surely it is not much to ask for a seat on occasion. Alison Other onboard stories Southern seem to be trying to save money by putting older trains on certain routes. Currently my commute to college is on an older train that only has three carriages, no toilet, uncomfortable seats with no tables and the train is almost always cold. This has only been happening since 2010, before which decent trains ran the route. I feel that heating in trains and a toilet should be a bare minimum for any train, let alone one that goes through countryside villages, this train goes from Littlehampton to Portsmouth. I d also like to have a table, so some college work could be done on the train. Unfortunately, this doesn t happen as the only seats are in sets of four with no tables. At the same time, the trains spark and I m frequently blinded by the sparks thrown off from the shoegear, both while on the platform and while on the train. I ve even ended up having my leg blasted with cold air once, from a hole in the side of the train on a cold morning. This simply isn t an acceptable service on a route that goes through lots of small villages in the countryside. Ed WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK. 5

6 The onboard experience: No heating on train all the time in journey from Tonbridge to East Croydon. Colin We frequently travel from Clapham Junction to Gatwick Airport with luggage. We are unable to get the Gatwick Express without changing from our south West Train and travelling the wrong direction into Victoria so it is amazing to find that with Southern Trains there is absolutely nowhere to put your luggage on a train that serves a major airport. Anthony 6. WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK

7 Punctuality: 54% 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. Constant lack of communication as to why trains are constantly late even by a few minutes but, even worse when it s longer! The excuse of we ve stopped at a red light - well, why? Is it due to congestion? An accident? It s really annoying when nothing is known! barry I travel the West Coastway line from the Worthing area into Brighton every weekday. It s a rare occurrence that the train arrives at my departure point at the advertised time, typically being at least two minutes late. In addition to the punctuality issues half the rolling stock on the West Coast way is refurbished 1960 s ex silverlink metro with no facilities provided. bruce I booked a direct train from Southampton to Doncaster. After waiting more than two hours for the train and being told different stories from different staff, we eventually got on the train and was told this would go to Doncaster. Only to be told during the journey that as it was running so late it would terminate at Birmingham. We then had to stand all the way from Birmingham to Doncaster with no apologies on route or any extra carriages due to delayed trains. All in all a very disappointing and traumatic day!! GILL I have had repeated experience of turning up for the same trains leaving Gipsy Hill for London Victoria in the weekday mornings that run consistently late so that I miss a connection at Clapham Junction. As I have been let down by the service consistently, I now go for an earlier train which means my return journey is 30 minutes longer and I have to wait around at Clapham Junction. I think this is a very poor service. G Useless excuses all the time. They are very sorry for the delay but the delays are continuous. The most frequent is that the train is late as they are awaiting a member of the train crew. Why can the person(s) not turn up 10 minutes before like anyone else? ROb Train punctuality/reliability is generally better in the mornings than in the evenings. For maybe the past three months probably 60% of trains between London Bridge and Caterham or East Grinstead have been delayed or cancelled. Can t recall a time was the service was so bad. PHILLIP WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK. 7

8 Punctuality: Carshalton - Epsom train delayed pretty much everyday. Anything from three to four minutes which isn t a huge problem to minutes which is! To add insult to injury, I check the Southern live running info before I leave my house. Not sure where they get their information from because the number of times my train is on time on their website and then either delayed or cancelled altogether by the time I reach the station (10-11 minute walk from my house). Useless! Melissa Trains are late more than they are on time and are regularly cancelled, usually with no warning whatsoever. I always allow 40 minutes for a seven minute journey so I m not late for work. Am now buying a car simply to avoid having to rely on these trains to get me into work. Dreadful. In comparison, I used Virgin when I lived in the north of England and their service I always found excellent! Anna As a commuter from East Grinstead to Victoria, every day brings it s own tails of woe and misery and the extent of the problems is getting progressively worse. As season ticket prices increase, performance and service decreases. The East Grinstead line is one of the worst performing and least cared for lines by Southern Rail. Edward Punctuality getting worse and more cancellations in the last year - my journey is Forest Hill to London Bridge. Usually enough seats at Forest Hill, but the problem is lateness and cancellations. Jill 8. WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK

9 Communication: 11% 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 Last night 18/02/2014, I wanted to catch the Victoria to Hove train, indicator board said delayed, as was the next train No announcements on concourse, except to say that passengers wanting to go to South Coast should catch the 22-37, which I did. This journey then took 1hr 45 mins instead of the scheduled 55 mins, the carriage I was in had an inaudible tannoy system, so we had no idea what was happening. Arriving at Brighton station after midnight, very few of us had any idea how to get to our destination. Any information or help would have been appreciated. Ian I am 70 years old and need to use a walking stick when I am out and about. My bad experience occurred last autumn, It was about 5pm. I travelled from London Bridge to Norwood Junction, barely managing to get aboard as the train departed. I heard muffled announcements over the train s tannoy system, but couldn t understand them. Upon reaching Norwood Junction, to my surprise and distress, I found myself prevented from alighting because the train was too long for the platform, which had only recently been elongated for longer trains to operate. I struggled my way (with my stick and bags) through the crowds of standing passengers, to the next carriage along, to reach some open doors, only to have them close in my face. I was then taken unwillingly to the next station, East Croydon. I had no idea that the train company was running trains from which it was impossible to alight. My experience was made much worse by the fact that East Croydon station, which I am unfamiliar with, was undergoing renovation work, and had no useful signage to tell me where I could take the next train back to Norwood Junction. It took me nearly ten minutes to find a member of the station staff to tell me which platform to use. I was very distressed at this experience and am fearful every time I take a train now. It was thoroughly alienating and I recall it with trepidation, and anxiety that train travel is no longer predictable, safe or relaxing. One cannot trust the operators to treat passengers (and I feel I am a passenger when travelling, not a customer who has the choice of walking away) with any care or respect. Leni Totally unreliable took train from Charing Cross to Hastings before Christmas having passed London Bridge announcment said no service past Tunbridge Wells, wait for coach & scrum to get on board. Sometime after Christmas having travelled up to London no problem return was only to Tunbridge Wells no buses finally advised to return Tonbridge then train to Ashford change then Hasting via Rye, change again to West St Leonards. This was long before the Flooding although we had experienced heavy rain.my localpaper explained it was bad design by the Victorians, this woul give Network Rail some 100 years to put it right. John There were serious problems on the mainline from Brighton to London last night, 18 February: Some flooding, signal failure, and WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK. 9

10 Communication: a broken rail at Haywards Heath. These things can happen, and there is only so much that Southern can do about this. However: There was little to no information available at Brighton station, most importantly: there was NO announcement that replacement buses were waiting to take passengers to Three Bridges. This was only spread by rumour and word of mouth - someone had heard something - NO announcement! If this was bad enough arriving at Three Bridges (where we were promised a train for London would be waiting): NO train NO announcement Rainer The most unreliable service imagined! At some point during last month when there was a simultaneous tube strike... as well as the usual unacceptable service. The train driver announces that the train would need to be diverted to Victoria due to...blah...blah... He then proceeded to say that he advised passengers to use the Tube network to get to their destinations in London! Luckily that did not happen...but the attitude in that particular instance can only described as amazing...! Danny I used them often to go into London and even though I do understand that works has to be done I can never understand why work has to be done in the busiest time or days.this year, the trains were late often. On one occasion I had to change trains four times in order to go from Kingston to Waterloo which the journey should take only 25 minutes usually. Instead it took an hour and a half. Another time, the same journey it took nearly two hours, stuck on the same train and it kept stopping while other trains kept their journey.the train driver said I apologise but unfortunately I do not know the reason why this is happening. Whenever, I asked at train stations why we were late etc either no one knows or due to signal issues or works are being done. Every year our transport is getting more and more expensive but the train and underground system is not getting efficient at all. At the end of the day the most common reason why we are paying more money every year is to make our transport system better but this is not happening. I am more happier buying a car instead at least I would be comfortable in my car and go from door to door instead of being stuck on a train for two hours. Victoria Complaints handling Trying to claim back money on a season ticket is made purposefully difficult - you can t do it at the ticket office any more, you have to queue to get the forms, fill in copious details, send off the forms and wait. On more than one occasion trying to get forms from Streatham Hill I was told they d run out. They make it virtually impossible to get any compensation put ticket prices up every year for necessary improvements - because they have underinvested in previous years in spite of fare rises the passenger bears the brunt Mark I use Gipsy Hill station. It was upgraded. Platform two has puddles practically its full length. Platform 1 has its live indicator board hidden behind ironwork. Years of complaining have had no effect. This is a customer unfriendly company. Leslie 10. WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK

11 Ticketing: Many passengers are confused by over-complicated ticketing systems and frustrated by ticket machines. 11% commented about tickets. Reasonable fares compared with other areas. ANNE I just do not understand why all the train companies do not have good honest priced ticketing, if you ask the ticketing sales people they will baffle you with so many tickets and prices and if you go online so many more options. It is confusing, if we had good honestly priced tickets more could travel further to get into work / employment. More would go into town and use the other businesses, more should be done to simplify train ticketing fares. SAMUEL It is cheaper to buy separate tickets from Chichester to Clapham Junction and then from there to Waterloo than to buy a through ticket from Chichester to Waterloo. ANTHONY WHICH? GET SOUTHERN RAILWAY TRAINS ON TRACK. 11

12 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 Southern 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: