Transport User Voice April 2025 – Train operator scorecard

01 April 2025

The latest results

With rail fares rising once again last month do passengers feel like they are getting a value for money service which they can rely on? 

In our latest train operator scorecards we looked to put a spotlight on rail industry performance and see how operators are delivering for passengers on what matters most to them. The scorecards draw together Transport Focus passenger satisfaction results about their most recent journey and industry data on punctuality, cancellations, and complaints.  

In creating this comparative snapshot, we want to play our role in supporting a more customer focussed culture within train operators and the wider rail industry. This should help to identify customer focussed improvements and ultimately drive-up satisfaction levels.  

LNER passengers are the most satisfied with their overall journey with 94 per cent satisfaction. All of LNER’s scores have gone up apart from value for money and their scorecard results register as green across the board. Notably their stations score better than most other train operators by some margin.  

At the other end of the scale CrossCountry has seen improvements in the proportion of passengers that are satisfied with their journey overall with their score going up from 72 to 77 per cent. CrossCountry still have a way to go to deliver a service that passengers expect with crowding having slipped again.  

While we’re aware that improvements are being considered, including additional carriages on some trains, passengers will want to see these as soon as possible. It’s vital CrossCountry builds on these initial signs of improvement, focusing on the key drivers of passenger satisfaction, a punctual and reliable service and the ability to get a seat.  

Five train operators (LNER, Merseyrail, c2c, Greater Anglia and ScotRail) score 90 per cent or over for overall passengers, which is positive. The average score is around 85 per cent and train operators between London North Western and South Western Railway are bunched within close range of the average.   

This quarter’s results also reinforce the importance of good service performance in driving passenger satisfaction, we always know that satisfaction is linked with punctuality. Operators with 90 per cent passenger satisfaction or over also receive higher scores for punctuality and reliability, while the remaining operators by comparison generally received lower satisfaction scores for punctuality. Value for money scores also remain some of the lowest and there’s considerable room for improvement in this area.  

In the scorecards personal safety and cleanliness also come through as areas for improvement in passenger comments. We know these are integral to a good passenger experience and while there are initiatives and processes to manage them, the comments highlight that there’s more to done. Interestingly, comments about services being dirty, unsafe and expensive were often combined in passenger feedback.  

Over the coming months we will continue to use the scorecards with train operators to support a customer focussed conversation so that passengers see improvements and more feel like their journey is better value for money.   

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