According to the latest figures published today (29 January) by Passenger Focus, the national watchdog for rail in the UK, train operators in London and the South-East are the worst in the country. Companies at the bottom of the list in these regions include South Eastern, First Great Western, First Capital Connect and One.
"Within these London and South-East figures, some of the lowest levels of satisfaction were for the availability of staff at just 30%, value for money at 38%, and how well the train companies dealt with delays at 35%," said London TravelWatch chairman Brian Cooke. "One railway scored particularly badly in these areas with just 19% for availability of staff, 31% for value for money and 28% for dealing with delays," Cooke continued.
"The results from One railway in particular are disgraceful, but other train operators, particularly those owned by First Group, only did marginally better. First Capital Connect took over the Thameslink and Great Northern franchise less than a year ago in a blaze of publicity saying they were going to transform the customer experience. Their score of just 10% satisfied or good for the availability of staff shows that they have failed miserable in their stated goal - and our postbag reflects with dissatisfaction."