Transport -
Soroptimist International
Report
Poorly-designed
carriages. rubbish-strewn tracks and a lack of
information are among problems affecting
travellers on some of the busiest rail routes,
says a new report. There are also too few
telephones and help points and closed-circuit TV
cameras were of "varied quality", the
study of trains and 60 stations in Kent, Surrey
and Sussex found. Carriage safety defects first
noted in 1997, such as difficult-to-reach
communication cords, had "still not been put
right" said the report from the south east
England branch of women's group Soroptimist
International.
A task force from the branch were checking
features that created risk and stress for
passengers. They found two thirds of stations
inspected showed little or no general improvement
compared with five years ago although there were
"welcome and impressive improvements to
some". Closed-circuit TV cameras on stations
and in carriages had significantly increased but
remained "uncoordinated and of varying
quality", track litter was "appalling
even at otherwise well-kept stations", and
more than half the stations inspected did not
display required information adequately.
Coach safety defects noted in 1997 had still not
been put right. Many were being repeated in new
rolling stock, in particularly poor access to the
communication cord and awkward seating. To
improve things, the task force proposed 78
practical measures, ranging from decent lighting
and a telephone at every station to adoption of
standard international symbols and colours for
railway signs. "We all want to feel safe and
be safe," said Penny Veness, president of
Soroptimist International of South East England.
"People want staff in the right place to
sort out problems, decent signs, basic
information, pleasant surroundings - the sort of
format successful retail chains spend a lot of
time and care fine-tuning."
Strategic
Rail Authority figures show 80.8% of trains ran
on time for the late summer period of July to
September 2002. This is more than two points down
on the previous quarter. The figure is a decline
on the 83% figure for the previous three months
of April-June 2002 but an improvement on last
year's late summer performance which saw 79% of
trains run on time in July-September 2001.
Satisfaction levels were poorest among passengers
of the Connex South Eastern company which
yesterday received a £58 million Government bail
out. The SRA says the industry now faced "a
massive challenge" to improve performance.
Just three of the 25 passenger train companies -
Arriva Trains Merseyside, South West Trains and
West Anglia Great Northern - performed better in
July-September 2002 compared with the previous
three months. Nationally, overall opinion of the
day's journey remained unchanged from the
previous two passengers' surveys of autumn 2001
and spring 2002, with 73% being satisfied in this
autumn's poll. At the bottom of the satisfaction
table, Connex South Eastern scored 65%, while the
Isle of Wight's Island Line (91%), Gatwick
Express (91%) and Chiltern Railways (89%) had the
highest ratings.
The level of complaints per 100,000 journeys in
July-September 2002 increased by 23% in
comparison with the previous three months.
Nineteen train companies recorded an increase in
complaints, with six either recording a fall or
having no change.
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