Only one in three ScotRail passengers happy with handling of delays

Published on Tuesday 30 June 2009 20:37

JUST one third of ScotRail passengers are happy with how Scotland's main train operator handles delays, an independent survey has shown.

The rating was worse than in the most recent polls, indicating that promised improvements to keep travellers better informed during disruption have failed to bear fruit.

The enduring Achilles heel for ScotRail also came despite overall satisfaction at a near record level of 89 per cent, with improvements in several other areas, such as station services.

The firm scored better than in the past on train toilets and parking, but fewer than half of passengers were happy with them.

Measures to help improve communications with passengers, announced two years ago, included staff being given "prompt cards" to help them respond to incidents, and clearer station announcements. Despite these, the latest twice-yearly national passenger survey by Passenger Focus, the official watchdog, found just 35 per cent of passengers were happy with delay handling this spring.

This compares to 42 per cent last autumn and 37 per cent in spring last year, although the figure sank to 30 per cent in autumn 2007. By contrast, National Express East Coast, the best-performer, achieved 62 per cent.

James King, Scottish board member for Passenger Focus, said:

"Passengers have told us repeatedly that there continue to be issues on the railway and we will be urging ScotRail and the rail industry to address these concerns as a priority."

Steve Montgomery, ScotRail's managing director, said further training will be needed. He said many staff were reluctant to make announcements until they received delay information – and should be franker with passengers.