Progress on passenger improvements – more to do says ORR

The Office of Rail and Road’s Annual Rail Consumer Report, published on 7 July, says train operators have made progress on improving information, accessibility and compensation – but that there is more work for them to do.

Improvements cited include passengers now being able to book assisted travel with two hours’ notice and a reduction from 24 hours over the past two years. However, the ORR says reducing the number of passengers who did not receive all of the assistance they booked, those not being met by staff at stations and the time it takes to book via telephone must all improve.

A review into website accessibility recognised improvements but found that more needs to be done, particularly on the quality of station accessibility information, and for customers who use screen-readers and other assistive technology.

Over the past year, the ORR’s report says all train operators have agreed to new delay compensation standards, while a new licence condition requires them to provide passengers with clear information before and during their journeys about entitlements to compensation where there are delays, improve how they process compensation claims, and publish data on how well they are meeting those obligations.