Improving the passenger experience when trains are disrupted
In recent years, the rail industry has made considerable efforts to improve passenger experience...
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Clear, concise, consistent
22 January 2026
Passengers often report that the information provided by train companies during service disruption is unclear and inconsistent. This has been consistently highlighted in Transport Focus research, and we have long pressed the industry to address it.
Transport Focus continues to work with the Smarter Information Smarter Journeys programme (SISJ) to help ensure that passengers views and needs guide its work. To that end, we worked in partnership with SISJ to gain fresh insight into how passengers consume and use disruption information to make decisions about their journeys. There was particular focus on how alternative journey options are communicated and whether those messages are understood.
The SISJ programme is a rail industry initiative delivered jointly by Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group and is charged with enhancing information so that passengers have the information they want, when and how they want it. The programme comprises a number of collaborative work streams, focused on finding solutions to a range of different information issues. It has achieved a number of notable successes, such as alerting passengers to timetable alterations after they have bought their ticket.
This report provides a summary of the research findings, which can be read alongside the full research agency report (insert link once generated). The results are already being used by SISJ to inform its work and to give train operators greater clarity about what passengers expect of them when disruption occurs. Transport Focus is using the findings in its work with the rail industry to shine a light on disruption communications falling short of what is required and to explore solutions to prevent a recurrence.
