Traveling by rail may not be the best value

Even as airline carriers tack on fuel charges to help offset the rising cost of oil costs customers are complaining that taking the train as an alternative for travel may not be worth it. In a new study released regarding rail travel by Passenger Focus it was revealed that 60 per cent of passengers felt that they did not get a good bargin for their ticket. This is down an additional per cent from the same period last year.

Other statistics that the survey showed included that only 38 per cent of rail travelers were satisfied with staff availability during their trip. Shockingly that is one statistic that slightly improved versus last years figure. Of the 30 different areas surveyed 20 of them actually showed a decline in performance while the other 10 simply stayed the same.

Chief Executive Officer of Passenger Focus, Anthony Smith, said that “Satisfaction with station and train facilities from long distance operators dropped across the board, and five operators should see these scores as a red alert.”

The Association of Train Operating Companies did show a 1 per cent increase in the value for money score versus the same period last year. The Chief Executive Officer of Atoc, Michael Roberts, noted that “With rail travel up by over 60m journeys in the past year, to one of its highest levels ever achieved, more and more people are satisfied with their rail travel experience. A major investment programme to benefit passengers is under way, and this should continue to drive up passenger satisfaction in a number of important categories.”

http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/

http://www.atoc.org/index.asp