Picturesque views fail to impress rail users

Published on Wednesday 26 January 2011 17:10

RAIL passengers in Scotland enjoy some of the most scenic routes in the world - but they are among the least satisfied in the UK.

• ScotRail's rural routes include the line to Fort William, which affords breathtaking views, but some passengers rated their travel experience as less than satisfactory

More than a quarter of travellers on rural ScotRail routes did not rate the experience as good, or even satisfactory.

ScotRail journeys include the Glasgow-Fort William- Mallaig line in the West Highlands, which has been voted as the world's best line for scenery by travel magazine Wanderlust, and the Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh line, which Michael Palin championed in the BBC's Great Railway Journeys of the World series.

Other lines include north of Inverness, in south-west Scotland and a few small stations on other routes.

In the first version of the twice-annual poll to show passengers' views about different parts of the ScotRail network, 74 per cent of those questioned on its rural lines said they were satisfied - the second lowest score in Britain after the London- Bedford line, at 72 per cent.

The figure compares with ScotRail's 86 per cent overall satisfaction rating in the poll last autumn, which was 4 per cent lower than the previous two surveys, but 2 per cent above the industry average.

Rural passengers were least happy about ticket prices, with fewer than half saying fares were value for money - 10 per cent less than ScotRail as a whole.

Only 72 per cent were happy with stations, compared to 82 per cent for ScotRail overall.

But they were the most satisfied of ScotRail's customers on punctuality and reliability, at 93 per cent, compared to 86 per cent overall.

Passenger Focus, the watchdog body which commissioned the poll, said the infrequency of trains and high proportion of unstaffed stations was a possible factor in the poor satisfaction score for rural routes.

ScotRail said it was examining the findings, but an industry source said the firm's own surveys had shown 80-90 per cent passenger satisfaction ratings on the routes last autumn.

Passenger Focus Scotland manager Robert Samson said: "The West Highland line has been voted the most scenic in the world so it is a concern that such routes have among the lowest passenger satisfaction."

However, he was surprised by the low value-for-money rating because of discounts available such as the Highland railcard.

Mr Samson said ScotRail's overall rating may have fallen because of overcrowding caused by delays in the introduction of new trains, resulting in some services running with fewer carriages than normal.

Other areas of concern included just four in ten passengers being satisfied with train toilets, compared half in the last survey, and the cleanliness of carriages.However, those polled said the efficiency of station staff had improved and the outside of trains were cleaner.

ScotRail managing director Steve Montgomery said: "We take heart from the fact that actions in a number of categories have led to improvements in ratings. We will look closely at the results, learn lessons, and take appropriate action to return at least to previous levels in all categories."

Among cross-Border operators, Virgin Trains received a 90 per cent satisfaction score, East Coast 89 per cent, First TransPennine Express 87 per cent and CrossCountry 84 per cent.