Majority of rail passengers face delays, overcrowding and dirty trains

The majority of rail passengers are experiencing delayed, dirty or overcrowded train journeys, according to new research by Which?

In the survey, carried out by Populus on behalf of Which?, passengers were asked what problems they had experienced taking trains over the last six months.

More than half of people (53%) said they couldn’t get a seat due to overcrowding at least once, with one in seven (15%) people saying that this occurred to them regularly.

Delays are also a big problem, with most people (51%) experiencing train delays of up to 15 minutes and around one in ten (12%) saying they had faced frequent delays.

Half of passengers also said that their carriage was dirty or littered at least once, while one in five (18%) of those asked said that they weren’t able to access any toilet facilities on a long train journey on at least one occasion.

Ahead of the UK General Election, Which? is calling on the next Government to hold train companies to account for poor passenger services in its ‘Consumer Agenda for Government’.

This includes establishing a mandatory, statutory Transport Ombudsman that all train companies and airlines must join to help manage passenger complaints with their services. The powers and duties of the Office of Rail and Road must also be strengthened, so that it more clearly puts the rights of passengers first.

The need for action is backed up by consumers, with one in five people (20%) believing rail should be a key priority for the next Government.