Trains "more punctual and reliable"

Rail Complaints Drop, but Promises to Passengers Broken -- Watchdog

There were 9,753 complaints in the last year compared with the 1995-6 record high of 11,640, with significant falls in those about punctuality and reliability, the Central Rail Users' Consultative Committee said. But the number of complaints from passengers in south east England rose sharply, and those about safety and security rose by 84%.

Public anger about the latest chaos in the new centralised phone enquiry system is not reflected in the figures, because it happened after the March cut-off date for the report.

Jackson believes things can only get better

Transport Minister Glenda Jackson told Radio 4's Today programme she expected improvement, given the huge sums of taxpayers' money still being poured into the system.

Rail chiefs had failed to ensure that new passenger charters were at least as good as the old British Rail ones, the committee said. Passengers still had to put up with "too many cancellations, delays and service failures and interruptions".

CRUCC chairman David Bertram said: "The Passenger's Charter is now a long-running problem which we consider is the result of promises to passengers being broken." He added: "The committee considers that the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising has signally failed to ensure that franchisees' charters are at least as good as BR's in important aspects."

Southern England complaints included those directed at South West Trains, which had to cancel up to 200 trains a week earlier this year because of driver shortages. The committee said changes introduced in south east England earlier this year had led to serious overcrowding and cancellations on a number of routes.

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Central Rail Users' Consultative Committee