CHAPTER FOUR TRAIN SERVICE PRIORITIES
4.1 Introduction
Respondents were given 15 train service aspects (16 for sleeper service users) and asked to state which would be the top five services aspects they would want to be informed of in terms of quality trends. In this section we present the reporting priorities are described:
- Across all train users
- By train class and route
- By journey purpose
- By respondent profile
4.2 Reporting Priorities Across all Train Users
Respondents ranked their top five train service reporting priorities one to five. In our analysis the top priority has been given a score of 5 and the fifth priority a score of 1 and a mean score has been calculated: the higher the mean score the higher the priority. The data has been weighted to reflect the occupancy of the train at the time of interview.
The top five reporting priorities for train users are:
- General cleanliness (2.5)
- Passenger Facilities (2.3)
- Toilet facilities on train (1.9)
- Passenger information displays (1.6)
- Heating and ventilation (1.3)
Figure 4.1: Priorities for Train Aspect Reporting
Notes to Figure: Base: all respondents. Data weighted to train occupancy.
There was some difference in response based on train class, route and respondent profile and these differences are described in the sections below.
4.3 Train Aspect Reporting Priorities By Train Class and Route
Priorities by Train Class
Table 4.1 shows the top priorities given by passengers on each type of train.
There were only a few differences in the top five reporting priorities by Train Class. The main difference in reporting priorities were:
- Passengers on 318 and 334 trains had public address system in their top five priorities.
- Respondents on the 320 train wanted to know about train staff and customer care rather than the toilet facilities on the train.
- Passengers on the Sleeper Service placed reporting on the Sleeper Service as their number 1 priority.
Table 4.1: Top Five Service Aspect Reporting Priorities by Train Class
Notes to Figure: Base: all respondents *Base is very low. Treat with caution
Further details can be found in Table 3 in ANNEX 4.
Priorities by Route Group
There are 24 train routes and for ease of reporting these have been grouped into 15 groups. Details of these groups can be found in ANNEX 3.
Passenger facilities, toilets on train, general cleanliness and passenger information displays were priorities for reporting on almost all route types. There were some differences between services:
- Passengers on the Sleeper service (G1) wanted to see information about sleeper services
- Reporting on the train staff and customer care aspects appeared in the top five reporting priorities for people travelling on six of the 15 route groups (2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9)
- Passengers on the cross country routes in groups 4, 10 and 13 all had public address system in their top five priorities whereas other services did not.
- Passengers on routes in group 10 & 11 placed refreshment and food facilities in their top five reporting priorities. A high number of long distance leisure travellers and tourists used routes in these groups.
Table 4.2: Top Five Reporting Priorities by Route Group
Notes to Figure: Base: all respondents. * number of passengers interviewed is relatively low. Further details can be found in Table 2 in ANNEX 4.
4.4 Train Aspect Reporting Priorities By Journey Purpose and Respondent Profile
There was no difference in the top five reporting priorities by age, gender or journey purpose.
Further details can be found in Tables 4 and 5 in ANNEX 4.