Virgin Trains leads the way in customer satisfaction and...
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Jan 24, 2017 09:31 GMT Virgin Trains leads the way in customer satisfaction and performance for long- distance operators • Virgin Trains top of long-distance franchised operators in latest NRPS results • Passenger satisfaction scores show marked improvement in stations and on-board facilities • Services score highly for journey time, frequency and punctuality
Transcript of Virgin Trains leads the way in customer satisfaction and...
Jan 24, 2017 09:31 GMT
Virgin Trains leads the way in customersatisfaction and performance for long-distance operators
• Virgin Trains top of long-distance franchised operators in latestNRPS results
• Passenger satisfaction scores show marked improvement in stationsand on-board facilities
• Services score highly for journey time, frequency and punctuality
Virgin Trains has achieved some of the highest overall scores for long-distance franchised operators in today’s NRPS results, scoring 90% on its westcoast route and 91% on its east coast route. Virgin Trains which has deliveredconsistently high scores on the west coast for a number of years is nowseeing the best autumn result on its east coast route in three years.
Stations and On-board
The £50m investment in the refurbishment of the entire east coast fleet andenhancements in customer experience were reflected in a 10% rise in scoresfor the upkeep and repair of trains and an 8% increase in the comfort of trainseats.
Car parking facilities on the east coast also saw an 11% boost in customersatisfaction, reflecting the additional 1,000 car parking spaces that have beenmade available at managed stations along the route.
On west coast, the survey highlights major improvements station upkeep andfacilities (+8%) and general facilities and services (+10%) and theresponsiveness of station staff stayed strong (91%).
Speed, Frequency and Punctuality
Recent timetable enhancements on the east coast route, particularly atLeeds, York and Edinburgh, contributed to high scores for frequency (92%),speed (90%) and punctuality (89%). On the west coast, journey time remains aconsistent strength (93%).
These outstanding results follow on from news last week that Virgin Trainsachieved a five star rating for reliability in the latest Annual Passenger Surveyfrom Which? Customers of Virgin Trains on the west coast are alsoexperiencing record punctuality as a result of a combined effort between therail operator and Network Rail to identify and resolve the cause of delays onthe route. 88.3% of trains arrived on time over the last twelve months, animprovement of eight percentage points since comparable records began justafter privatisation, two decades ago.
David Horne, Managing Director of Virgin Trains on the east coast said: “Weare delighted to see Virgin Trains leading the results for long-distance
operators. The £50M investment in our services is bearing fruit and we arehappy to see that customers are seeing the benefits of our new interiors,more frequent services and our on-board entertainment app, BEAM. The workdoesn’t stop here though as we continue to improve on the high qualityservice our customers have come to expect of us ahead of the launch of ourcutting edge new Azuma fleet in 2018.”
Phil Whittingham, Managing Director of Virgin Trains on the west coast said:“We are proud to be building on the success of a franchise that is nearly 20years old. We are continuing to make improvements to areas that we knoware important to our customers such as station facilities, and introducingmore convenient mobile tickets, whilst working with Network Rail to take ourpunctuality and reliability to a record high.”
Notes to Editors
East Coast Highlights:
91% overall satisfaction score – highest since Autumn 2013
Percentage Percentage change since Autumn 2015
Upkeep & repair of trains 86% (+10%)
Car parking facilities 64% (+11%)
Comfort of train seats 81% (+8%)
Frequency of trains 92% (0%)
Cleanliness of trains 84% (+1%)
Speed of journey 90% (-1%)
Punctuality & reliability 89% (+3%)
West Coast Highlights: 90% overall satisfaction score
Percentage
Percentage change since Autumn2015
Satisfaction with stations 84% (+6%)
Ticket buying facilities 87% (+8%)
Upkeep/repair of stations 76% (+8%)
Cleanliness of stations 82% (+6%)
Facilities and services at thestation
72% (+10%)
Speed of journey 93% (0%)
Punctuality & reliability 89% (-1%)
About Virgin Trains:
Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the East Coastand West Coast inter-city routes under the Virgin Trains brand. Together, theyare on track to revolutionise rail travel across the UK.
The combined network connects some of the nation’s most iconicdestinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester,Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, York and London.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service,offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellentcustomer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains as one of the toplong-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey(NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.
On the East Coast route, £140m is being invested to create a morepersonalised travel experience. We have already invested £21m tocompletely revamp our existing fleet and customers can now benefit from 42additional services (22,000 extra seats) per week between Edinburgh andLondon. 2018 will see the introduction of completely new Azuma trains beingbuilt in the UK by Hitachi.
The West Coast route has a proud record of challenging the status quo - fromintroducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repayscheme and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets forall ticket types.
Visit the Virgin Trains Media Room - virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room -for the latest news, images and videos. Subscribe here for regular news fromVirgin Trains.
