Barry Passengers Amongst the Most 'Unsatisfied' Train Users in the UK

By The Editor

28th Jan 2020 | Local News

Property of Jaggery on Geograph
Property of Jaggery on Geograph

The Rail Passenger Survey has been released and found that passengers of services run by Transport for Wales (TFW), specifically on those that run through Barry, are some of the most unsatisfied in the UK.

The percentage of customers satisfied with their TfW journey in autumn 2019 was 79%, compared with 82% in 2018.

1,026 passengers have been surveyed for the research on TfW's services.

The operator, which runs services through Barry, Barry Docks, Barry Island and Cadoxton, was the fourth-lowest-ranked operator out of the 24 in the UK.

The service that runs through these stations was also ranked for TfW individually.

The Valleys and Cardiff service which runs through these areas came out with 74% overall satisfaction which is lower than the overall TfW average.

This is the 5th worst line out of the 74 individual services surveyed across the UK.

These figures have seen no significant improvement since the operator took over from Arriva Trains Wales in 2018.

The percentage of passengers who were satisfied with the value of ticket prices (41%) and punctuality (67%) on this service had fallen, the percentage of satisfaction on this line had fallen whilst passengers satisfaction with crowding (60%) made no significant change.

TfW have said they are looking to make serious improvements in Wales over the next few years including improved trains, more services and the electrification of many tracks to improve the journey times.

Passengers on Barry lines have often outlined their frustration on social media.

Delays and cancellations seem to be a major concern and almost daily Tweets have been made to the train company by disgruntled users.

Overcrowding is a particular problem for Barry users. A post on the Facebook group 'Spotted: Penarth Barry Sully Dinas' said: ''Is anyone else getting sick and tired of Transport For Wales? Only 2 carriages on a heavily congested route, constant lateness, no care for health and safety and no empathy in us passengers who are affected by this.

''This was this morning. 7:36 am and 7:51 am. Both trains full to the brim and passengers left waiting in the cold.''

Transport Focus, the independent watchdog, who carried out the research commented on the findings.

Chief executive Anthony Smith, said: "Passengers tell us that their biggest priority is rail services they can rely on to actually get them to work or home on time. Until train companies and Network Rail can consistently deliver on their promises across the country satisfaction will continue to vary.

"In the meantime passengers hit by poor performance must make their voice heard and claim Delay Repay compensation."

Value for money results remained disappointing. Less than half of passengers are satisfied with the value of their ticket nationally – that drops to one in three for commuters.

Anthony Smith added:

"Passengers have suffered years of above-inflation fare rises, exceeding average wage rises, and calculated using the discredited Retail Price Index measure. This does nothing to restore passenger trust in the industry."

''Satisfaction with rail journeys was its lowest level in a decade in autumn 2018. It has now gone up as passengers in some areas, particularly in London and the south-east felt the benefit of more stable performance and new trains.

''Transport Focus will use the evidence from the survey as it continues to push for wide-scale reform of the industry, and immediate improvement in reliability for the worst-affected areas.''

TfW's plans for improvements are outlined in the document which you can find by pressing the red button below.

     

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