Troubled rail firm's satisfaction falls

South Western Railway is in the bottom three nationally

A passenger survey has found train operator South Western Railway to be one of the worst in the country.

The independent watchdog Transport Focus has found overall satisfaction has fallen to 74% since Spring 2019 - in the bottom three nationally.

Only operators Northern, which has had its franchise stripped, and West Midlands scored lower.

It comes after the firm, which runs services from Devon to London Waterloo, said it could lose its franchise after making a loss of £137m.

A South Western Railway spokesperson said: “We know that performance during this period was very challenging for customers and that is reflected in the results.

"We are determined to improve the reliability of our services and earn back the trust of customers. That’s why we’re working hard with Network Rail to tackle the underlying issues head on through the Joint Performance Improvement Centre.

“It is encouraging to see that our investment in new and refurbished trains is beginning to be recognised by our customers, with scores regarding capacity and onboard facilities like Wi-Fi increasing. There have also been improvements in service information and the availability of staff.

“Over the course of our franchise, we are investing £1.2bn to introduce modern trains, extra services and more capacity.”

Fellow Devon operator Great Western Railway scored satisfaction of 86% in the major survey of 28,000 passengers.

GWR Interim Managing Director Matthew Golton said: “I am delighted that the hard work, by GWR and our industry colleagues is paying off and this is now being recognised by the majority of our customers; many of whom are enjoying the benefit of new trains and much more reliable infrastructure.

“Clearly our work doesn’t stop here, and we continue discussions with the Government on their priorities and focus beyond the end of the current franchise in March.”