Virgin Trains leads the pack in latest national rail survey (Liverpool)

The latest national passenger survey shows Virgin Trains is once again rated as best long-distance franchise operator for overall satisfaction and value for money.

Carried out twice a year by rail watchdog Passenger Focus, the National Passenger Survey is a key marker of trains operating companies' performance.

For the second survey in a row, passengers gave Virgin Trains the highest rating of any long-distance franchise operator when asked about how satisfied they were with their overall journey - 90% of those questioned rated Virgin Trains as ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’.

For the sixth survey in a row, passengers rated Virgin Trains as offering the best value-for-money of any long-distance franchise operator - 63% of those questioned rated Virgin Trains as ‘satisfactory’ or ’good’.

Virgin Trains’ improving punctuality is also reflected in the results, with the company tying for top place among long-distance franchisees as 89% of passengers gave ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ ratings.

Gary Iddon, Virgin Trains General Manager based at Liverpool said: "To see that our customers consistently rate us so highly is a fantastic boost for everyone who helps us deliver our service.

"We only get such high ratings by constantly improving our service, so we’ve also looked at the fine detail of the survey for areas where we need to do better. We don’t score so highly on issues relating to the state of stations, so we’re campaigning for more freedom to carry out improvements ourselves rather than relying on our landlords Network Rail.

"Virgin Trains brought a fresh approach to the rail industry when we won the West Coast franchise in 1997. The current franchise ends in 2012, and we’ll be bringing our typically customer-focussed approach to bidding for the next franchise."

Commenting on the results of the survey, Anthony Smith, Chief Executive of Passenger Focus, said: "The power of investment in the railways is clear. Virgin Trains has motored ahead as the top scoring major long distance operator with nine out of 10 Virgin passengers satisfied overall with their last journey. The combination of new trains, renewed track and more frequent services are luring more passengers to the railway and keeping them happy."


The National Passenger Survey can be viewed here:
http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/research/nps/content.asp