Rail Delivery Group

“Passengers are at the heart of what we do”: RDG on improvement priorities
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date 10 October 2014
source Rail Delivery Group
type Press release

Responding to the Passenger Focus report on passenger priorities for improvement, Michael Roberts, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators and Network Rail, said:

“Passengers are at the heart of what we do which is why the rail industry always listens carefully to their feedback.

“While overall passenger satisfaction remains near a record high, we know that we need to keep on improving, driving up the quality of services to respond to customers’ needs and the growing demand for rail travel.

“All parts of the industry are working hard to reduce delays, provide more seats on trains and make every pound that passengers spend go further.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. More than nine out of ten trains arrive as planned across the network, but the industry is working to ensure that ever more services are punctual. Measures to improve performance include:

o the introduction of traffic management software at 12 state-of-the-art control centres, enabling more trains to use the network safely and quicker recovery when delays happen
o electrification of more than 3,000 track kms of railway, enabling greener, quicker more reliable electric trains to run
o further modification of trains to be more resilient to severe weather

2. The number of passenger services per year has risen 28% in 15 years, from 5.69m to 7.27m, and frequencies on many mainline routes have doubled. To meet the continued growth in demand, major investment is underway and will continue over the coming years to provide more infrastructure capacity, which will allow longer trains to run.

By 2019, there will be 20% more seats into central London, and 32% more seats into and out of other major cities during morning peak hours.

3. Train companies and Network Rail are building on progress made in improving how the railway deals with disruption and keeps passengers informed. Industry plans include:

o delivering more consistent real-time information at stations, websites and apps
o explaining delays better, making information available at stations, through social media and on National Rail Enquiries and Network Rail websites
o making greater use of social media to answer passengers’ real-time/live queries and to publicise updated travel plans and travel information
o doing more to remind delayed passengers how to claim compensation for disrupted journeys, including more announcements on trains, handing out and tweeting claim forms and email reminders sent to those who booked online

Railhub Archive ::: 2014-10-10 RDG-001