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Passengers fear lack of staff on trains, says poll
Dick Murray, Transport Editor08.07.08
London's mainline rail passengers are more worried about lack of visible staff on trains than they are about escalating fares, a survey shows today.
More than half of passengers using First Capital Connect, c2c and London Overground services said they were "dissatisfied" or found availability of staff on trains poor, according to the annual National Passenger Survey. Concern over lack of train staff has largely replaced passenger fears about unmanned stations, the poll also showed.
Numbers of station staff increased since the Standard's Safer Stations campaign-launched after the murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, two years ago. The City lawyer was stabbed after leaving the unstaffed Silverlink station at Kensal Green, then operated by National Express. Silverlink has since become part of London Overground.
Transport for London quickly ensured its stations were staffed after it took control of North London Line and Silverlink Metro under the London Overground umbrella last year. Only 19 per cent of respondents said they were now dissatisfied with availability of staff at London Overground stations.
But 57 per cent believed there were not enough staff on trains - 60 per cent for First Capital Connect (formerly Thameslink) and 56 per cent for c2c.
Some 45 per cent of First Capital Connect passengers said their ticket was not value for money, against 33 per cent on c2c and 32 per cent on London Overground.
At Southeastern, 48 per cent were dissatisfied with the number of staff on trains, and 48 per cent did not believe their ticket was value for money.
It comes as rail commuters face fare increases of up to 10 per cent from the start of next year. Last January ticket prices rose by up to 14 per cent.
TfL said: "We've taken over a rail network which has suffered from decades of under-investment, and putting it right will take some time." A First Capital Connect spokesman said it was company policy to operate driver-only trains.
Nigel Jarrett, spokesman for Southeastern, the UK's most crowded carrier, said: "We are one of the few train operators to have a 24-hour contact line - 0845 000 2222. Many more stations have helppoints; police accredited railway enforcement officers; and the British Transport Police maintain roving patrols."
National watchdog Passenger Focus said across Britain 80 per cent of passengers were satisfied with their train journeys. Three London companies topped the list: Gatwick Express (93 per cent), Heathrow Express (92 per cent) and Chiltern Railways (89 per cent). But scores for long-distance operators - Cross Country, East Midlands, First Transpennine, National Express East Coast and Virgin - were "worrying".
