Britain’s worst rail operator was today named as CrossCountry after beleaguered passengers complained of axed trains, dirty seats and poor value for money.
The firm came bottom of a study by watchdog Transport Focus combining passenger satisfaction with industry data on punctuality, cancellations and complaints.
CrossCountry was given the lowest rating of 77 out of 100 in the report after suffering disruption for years, partly because of a driver training backlog and industrial action.
The operator – owned by Arriva, a subsidiary of US-based infrastructure investor I Squared Capital – was the worst performing for punctuality at 65 and crowding at 44.
It was also the poorest for the overall trains rating at 67, as well as being fifth-worst for value for money at 46. Its station score was 82, in the middle of the 22 operators.
One passenger said in the report: ‘Very rowdy passengers. Someone sat in my seat and wouldn’t move even though I am disabled. No conductor around to help.’ Another added: ‘Seats were dirty and I didn’t feel safe with the other passengers.’
It comes after the Birmingham-based company was last month revealed to have had the UK’s highest cancellations score – counting full cancellations as one and part-cancellations as half – of any operator in the year to February 1, at 7.36 per cent.
CrossCountry – which has held its franchise since 2007 – reduced its timetabled services between August 10 and November 9 last year in an effort to limit on-the-day cancellations, and has been put on a remedial plan to improve its performance.
Transport Focus combined passenger satisfaction with data on punctuality and complaints
CrossCountry was given the lowest rating of 77 out of 100 in the Transport Focus report
The second-worst operator on the study was found to be Northern Trains with a score of 79, followed by five operators all on 81 – those being South Western Railway, Great Northern, Transport for Wales, TransPennine Express and Southern.
But the research also put London North Eastern Railway (LNER) top of the rankings with 94, followed by Merseyrail on 93 and c2c and Greater Anglia both on 91.
Other operators faring well included ScotRail on 90, London Overground and Elizabeth line both on 89 and London Northwestern Railway on 87.
The average score across all operators was around 85 per cent.
A CrossCountry spokesman told MailOnline: ‘Over the last six months, we have worked hard to reduce cancellations whilst improving punctuality and onboard experience.
‘However, we know that we have more to do to consistently meet the high standards and the resilient service that customers rightly expect.
‘We know that the availability of a seat is incredibly important to our customers.
‘We have already received three extra trains with nine more to follow from this spring, providing more than 28,000 additional standard class seats weekly for customers on our long-distance routes.
‘We continue to work with the Department for Transport and Network Rail to deliver further improvements for our customers and the communities we serve.’
The second-worst operator on the study was found to be Northern Trains with a score of 79
A Northern spokesperson said: ‘We accept the results of this survey are not good enough. We will use the feedback to help us make improvements and provide customers with the best possible travelling experience.
‘We are currently focused on delivering our plan to improve reliability, upgrading hundreds of stations across our vast network and planning to make the largest ever investment in our fleet by introducing up to 450 new trains.’
Transport Focus did point out that CrossCountry has seen an increase in the proportion of passengers satisfied with their journey since the last study, with their overall score going up from 72 to 77 per cent.
But its report added: ‘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.’
LNER bosses meanwhile hailed the firm’s overall performance and their station score of 91, which was by far the highest of any operator.
Colette Casey, customer experience director at LNER, said: ‘Our teams work hard day-in-day-out to provide the best possible service for our customers – be that through the booking process, at our stations or on our trains.
‘We’re beyond proud that Transport Focus’s latest survey now recognises us as the number one train operator in the UK for journey satisfaction. Our onboard and station teams are dedicated to ensuring our customers at the heart of everything they do.’
Reliability on Britain’s railways was last month revealed to have plunged to a record low
However, looking at the overall picture, the Transport Focus report said: ‘Our research shows there is a clear gap between what people pay for their ticket and the service they currently feel they get in return.
‘This needs to change. Passengers rightly expect to see improvements for the money they have paid.’
It comes after reliability on Britain’s railways was last month revealed to have plunged to a record low with more than one in 25 services cancelled in the past year, as operators continued to suffer from industrial disputes and staffing shortages.
More than 217,000 services were fully axed in the year to February 1, according to PA news agency analysis of the latest Office of Rail and Road (ORR) data.
A further 165,000 were part-cancelled, meaning they did not serve at least one of their scheduled stops.
The rail industry produces a cancellations score – counting full cancellations as one and part-cancellations as half – which shows the equivalent of 4.09 per cent of the 7.3million trains planned in that period were cancelled.
That was the worst reliability performance in figures dating back to March 2015, when the annual cancellations score was just 1.86 per cent.
The research also put London North Eastern Railway (LNER) top of the rankings with 94
Over the past 12 months, reliability was particularly poor in the four weeks to December 7, when the network was affected by three named storms.
After CrossCountry at 7.36 per cent, Avanti West Coast had the second highest cancellations score at 7.00 per cent, followed by Northern (5.97 per cent) and Govia Thameslink Railway (5.45 per cent).
The best performing operator was Caledonian Sleeper – which runs overnight services between London and Scotland – with a score of 1.11 per cent.
The figures did not include services removed from timetables as late as 10pm on the previous night – known as P-coding – which is done more by some operators than others.
Meanwhile, the best and worst rail stations for commuters travelling into or out of London were revealed earlier this week as it emerged barely half of train services now run on time.
Essex came out on top with Chelmsford, Basildon, Shenfield and Wickfield ranked as the best four performing stations out of 30 key hubs outside the M25 motorway.
But Thameslink stations generally ranked poorly, with Welwyn Garden City and St Albans City in Hertfordshire and Redhill in Surrey making up three of the bottom four.
Separately, rail passengers in England are now being shown how often trains are cancelled and delayed at individual stations for the first time.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander next to a train performance data display board at Reading train station on March 6 after they were rolled out across the UK rail network
Performance data produced by regulator the ORR is now available for more than 1,700 stations, which Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said heralds ‘a new era of rail accountability’.
Digital screens at major stations are displaying the statistics, while the information for smaller stations is available to view online by scanning QR codes. The screens also provide information on work operators and Network Rail are doing in their area to improve performance.
Analysis by the PA news agency found Ealing Broadway in west London was the major station with the worst reliability of services in the four weeks to February 1.
That is out of the 77 stations with more than 10,000 scheduled services in that period.
The equivalent of 7.9 per cent of services at Ealing Broadway – which is used by Elizabeth line and Great Western Railway trains – were cancelled.
Elizabeth line stations make up seven of the 10 worst for cancellations, including Bond Street (7.4 per cent), Farringdon (6.5 per cent) and Paddington (5.6 per cent).
The other three stations are all on Merseyside’s Merseyrail network, which has suffered problems with trains being unable to draw electricity from the third rail during wintry weather.
The highest cancellation score of any station in England was 22.8 per cent at Ince & Elton in Cheshire, which is one of the least used in the country. It was scheduled to have just 92 services during the period.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander at Reading station for the data displays launch on March 6
The Department for Transport is currently consulting on proposals for ‘Great British Railways’, a new public sector body which will be responsible for overseeing train operations and railway infrastructure.
Train fares in England and Wales increased by nearly 5 per cent from March 2, while railcards became more expensive, despite record low reliability of services.
The UK Government set the cap of 4.6 per cent for England’s increases in regulated fares, such as season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long-distance routes, and flexible tickets for travel around major cities.
The latest rise added around £187 to the cost of an annual season ticket from Woking to London, with a York to Leeds 12-month pass becoming approximately £133 more expensive.
A rail industry source stressed to MailOnline that commuter fares were set many years ago before existing train companies took over their franchises and rise each year in line with the regulated fares rise set by government.
Operators set rises in unregulated fares, although these were also expected to have increased by around 4.6 per cent as their finances are closely controlled by governments.
The Welsh Government matched the Westminster administration’s cap on rises in regulated fares while Transport for Wales applied various increases to its unregulated fares.
Transport for London increased Tube and rail fares in the capital by 4.6 per cent but bus and tram fares were frozen.
Railcards in Britain – excluding those specifically for disabled passengers – also become more expensive for the first time since 2013 from March 2.
The price of a three-year card rose from £70 to £80, while a one-year card increased from £30 to £35.
