'Disappointing' results from the National Rail Passenger Satisfaction Survey show almost one in five passengers are unsatisfied with state of the railways.
Scottish rail passengers and peak-time commuters in South East England, particularly on Southern Rail, are bearing the brunt of poor performance, passenger watchdog Transport Focus said.
London's Victoria Station
Nationally the percentage of passengers satisfied with their journey overall was 81%, down on the figure of 83% in autumn 2015 but higher than spring 2016 (80%).
However only 30% of passengers on Southern peak trains were satisfied with how punctual their train was and only 12% happy with how the company dealt with delays. Only 12% of Gatwick Express peak time passengers thought it provided value for money.
Publishing its latest National Rail Passenger Survey, Transport Focus said commuters are getting a raw deal.
It surveyed more than 29,000 passengers across Great Britain last autumn as part of what it said is the largest published rail passenger satisfaction survey in the world.
Unsurprisingly, passenger satisfaction with Southern has declined significantly, as has satisfaction with Great Northern, another part of the GTR franchise, and ScotRail. In Scotland, satisfaction with punctuality has fallen six percentage points.
Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: ‘The results around the country are disappointing. Scottish passengers and those travelling in peak hours in London and the South East are bearing the brunt of poor performance.
‘The timetable on parts of the London and South East’s railway can be a work of fiction which passengers cannot rely on. As passenger numbers rise, parts of the rail network will remain brittle until welcome improvements are in place and working.
Mr Smith highlighted Southern and two other brands within the GTR franchise as needing improvement. He said: ‘Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Network Rail must continue to collaborate to produce a more robust timetable.’
The watchdog said its analysis showed that satisfaction is significantly lower for passengers travelling into London during peak hours.
It said scores for punctuality, value for money and dealing with delays for peak time passengers are particularly low ‘for certain companies’ – again highlighting GTR brands.
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