Train travellers have given a thumbs-up to Merseyrail after the company received the highest overall satisfaction score in a national public survey.
Merseyrail was awarded 93% – which is 10% above the national average – in a poll carried out by Transport Focus among 28,000 passengers.
Merseyrail claims that its fares are amongst the lowest in the country and 69% of people polled said they were satisfied with value for money of the ticket prices.
Steve Colclough, 34, from Birkenhead said: “I use Merseyrail every day. It’s easier just to jump on the train to the city centre rather than in the car. It’s cheaper too. I’d have to pay for the tunnel if I was driving and money for parking. Yes, I’d say I am happy with the value for money.”
Merseyrail also achieved a 93% score for punctuality and reliability. The survey also found that the opinion on repair and maintenance of the trains increased by 14 percentage points to 87%.
However, not all users back the findings. Tracy Rowe, 63, from Aintree said: “I’m quite shocked because they’re always unreliable. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to wait an extra half an hour or so because they’ve been delayed. They seem to have delayed trains and cancellations all the time.
“The prices of the tickets keep going up too so I don’t know how they have come out with 93% overall satisfaction. I’m certainly not satisfied.”
Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, Managing Director of Merseyrail, said: “These encouraging results are thanks to our partnership with Merseytravel and the hard work of our staff to improve the customer experience.
“As we enter the second half of the concession, we will continue to invest in the network and make further enhancements throughout.”