Transport User Voice – January 2017 – Tough times continue for Southern passengers

21 December 2016

Tough times continue for passengers on Southern Rail following the failure of talks between Govia Thameslink Railway and unions.

Passengers on Southern Rail have suffered months of delays and cancellations due to the strikes. We continue to call for all parties in this dispute to sit around the table to bring the services back to normal as soon as possible.

Transport Focus is surveying passengers to hear about their daily experiences. We want to give industry and Government a sense of the human side of the issues – how even a few minutes of delay impacts people’s lives.

In September, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling MP asked Chris Gibb to head up a project board to improve the performance of Southern Rail. As part of his review, Chris Gibb asked Transport Focus to assist him with ensuring the passenger perspective is taken fully on board.

Our latest Transport User Panel research surveyed passengers on Southern, as well as Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Southeastern Railway to monitor passenger satisfaction with train performance in London and the south east.

We asked passengers travelling on the routes to find out about disruption and delay to their train services, which sources of information they trust and how easy passengers find claiming Delay Repay compensation.

The research found that less than one in 10 passengers in London and the south east are sufficiently informed about disruption before they start their journey.

The Rail Minister, Paul Maynard MP has asked Transport Focus to work with Govia Thameslink Railway and Southeastern to improve this.

Click here to view the report.

If you want to get involved and have your say you can apply to be a part of our Transport User Panel here.

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