Fewer than half of rail commuters in Great Britain believe their train fare offers value for money, according to a national passenger survey. The research, conducted by the watchdog Transport Focus, reveals that only 49% of commuters are satisfied with the price they pay, compared to 67% of leisure travellers who deem it worthwhile.
CrossCountry Ranks Lowest in Satisfaction
Travellers on the CrossCountry long-distance rail service reported the lowest overall satisfaction levels. While 87% of over 100,000 passengers surveyed were content with their journey, this figure dropped to 79% for CrossCountry customers. Many expressed dissatisfaction with how the operator handled delays.
CrossCountry operates long-distance routes from southern England to the north and Scotland, passing through Birmingham. Transport Focus has urged the company to improve passenger information during disruptions and address overcrowding.
Record Passenger Numbers
The findings coincide with news that passenger journeys reached a record high of 1.83 billion in the past year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) noted that around one in seven journeys were on the Elizabeth line, and the increasing use of split ticketing—dividing longer trips into segments for cheaper fares—has inflated the figures.
Rail fare revenue stood at £12.3 billion, still £1 billion less than pre-pandemic totals.
Gap Between Best and Worst Operators
Alex Robertson, chief executive of Transport Focus, highlighted a "striking gap" between the best and worst performing operators. "These results show that it's possible for the railway to get it right, but that this isn't happening consistently enough," he said. He also noted that disabled passengers experience a worse service than others.
Robertson emphasised the impact of delay handling: "More than nine in 10 people will report a positive experience if a delay is handled well—a remarkably high figure given their train is late—but this falls to one in four when it isn't. Fixing this is well within the railway's control and should be a priority."
Top Performers and Future Changes
Hull Trains passengers were the most satisfied at 94%, followed by LNER at 93%, while Lumo was rated best for value for money. Both Hull and Lumo are open access services run independently by FirstGroup. Chief executive Graham Sutherland said, "We've clearly demonstrated on the east coast mainline that having effective competition there has driven more volumes and more sustainable transport, and brought real value to customers."
CrossCountry is expected to be brought into public ownership next year as part of the government's nationalisation programme. Train operators and Network Rail will be integrated into Great British Railways, a new arm's-length national body reporting to the government.
An Arriva-run CrossCountry spokesperson called the results "disappointing" but added, "We know we must do more to deliver the service our customers rightly deserve."
