Passengers rate East Midlands trains highly in independent survey » Railway News

Passengers rate East Midlands trains highly in independent survey » Railway News

East Midlands Trains passengers continue to be very satisfied with their service, according to the latest independent survey released 26 January 2012 by national transport watchdog, Passenger Focus.

The survey, carried out in Autumn 2011, shows that an impressive 87% of passengers are satisfied with their service.

Satisfaction is also up across 24 different categories with notable increases in East Midlands Trains’ stations and trains, representing the ongoing £40 million investment programme to improve services for passengers.

The highest increases in passenger satisfaction are with East Midlands Trains’ fleet of trains. Satisfaction with the upkeep and repair of the train increased to 85%, representing a 9%year on year increase. The amount of space provided for luggage on train has also been rated by passengers, with another 9% year on year increase.

Ratings for on train facilities such as toilets and comfort of seats have also improved, with the year on year scores increasing by 5% and 4% respectively.

Cleanliness of stations and trains have both received the thumbs up from passengers. Satisfaction with the cleanliness of stations has increased by 6% to 82%, and by 5% for train cleanliness.

Other areas which have scored highly are the availability of station staff, which has increased by 5% year on year and ticket buying facilities, which has increased by 3% to 79%

David Horne, Managing Director for East MidlandsTrains, said: “We’re really pleased with the latest set of satisfaction scores, which are a clear demonstration that our investment to improve our stations and trains is continuing to make a difference to passengers.

“However, we remain focused on delivering further improvements to the service we offer to ensure that satisfaction amongst our passengers continues to grow.”

East Midlands Trains continues to be one of the most punctual train operators in the country, according to the latest performance figures issued by Network Rail. The performance figures,which cover the four-week period ending 7 January 2012, show that trains operated by East Midlands Trains recorded a punctuality figure of 92.5%. The latest figures also signify a further improvement on East MidlandsTrains’ moving annual average (MAA), which is now 93.2%. This represents the best ever MAA figure for East Midlands Trains, and it is significantly higher than the national moving annual average figure of 91.6%.

The improvements in performance have also been recognised in the latest National Passenger Survey. 88% of passengers are satisfied with the punctuality and reliability of their train service,marking a 1% year on year improvement.