Return to rail: what do passengers want?

29 July 2021

In this report we have looked at experiences of rail travel during Covid-19 and expectations and requirements for the future. We have spoken to almost 11,500 people, a mix of people who have been travelling by rail during the pandemic and those who have yet to return.

We also included qualitative work to better understand the reasons behind the numbers and to explore specific ideas around communications and improvements.

Using these, we have identified the steps we think the rail industry should take to encourage passengers back on board.

It is important to remember that while we measured satisfaction at an overall level and with specific attributes, the results are not directly comparable with the National Rail Passenger Survey in Spring 2020. Because of low passenger volumes and the inability to control sampling, reporting is not done below sector level and we do not directly compare results by train companies.

Fieldwork was carried out in March 2021, so while respondents felt the way they did at that point, please note that their behaviours and attitudes may have changed since then, due to the change in restrictions, vaccination programmes and other Covid related developments.