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Passenger rail service complaints

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Tables 4110 and 4113 have not been updated since 2019-20 Quarter 4. The impact of COVID-19 on passenger rail usage has meant passenger journeys are not currently a suitable normaliser for complaints rates. An alternative measure of complaint volumes has been provided in Table 4100 – Complaints closed by operator

Quarterly statistics on the volume and cause of complaints made to train operating companies, infrastructure managers and passenger watchdogs along with statistics on how well train operating companies respond to complaints. This data forms part of ORR's core consumer data requirements from train operating companies; more information can be found at ORR core data

For details on how these statistics are compiled, please see our Passenger rail service complaints and delay compensation claims quality and methodology report  and for information on any revisions, please see our Revisions Log.

Data and reports that include previous statistical releases on Passenger rail service complaints can be found on the National Archives.

If you have any questions or feedback on these statistics, please contact rail.stats@orr.gov.uk

 

Passenger satisfaction with complaints handling

Passenger satisfaction with complaints handling

We have produced a factsheet on passenger satisfaction with train operators’ complaints handling processes.

 

Latest statistical release

Passenger rail service complaints 2020-21 Q3
Passenger rail service complaints 2020-21 Q3

Date published: 08 Apr 2021
Date next published: 24 Jun 2021

Key results

  • During 2020-21 Quarter 3, passenger rail service complaints have continued to be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The volume of train services and passengers on the network was higher than earlier in the year but remained at historically low levels, resulting in continued high levels of punctuality and reliability and subsequently a continued low volume of complaints.
  • Overall, there were 32,287 complaints closed by train operators in 2020-21 Quarter 3. This represents a decrease of 77.8% compared to 2019-20 Quarter 3. Ticketing and refunds policy was the most complained about category, accounting for 16.1% of all complaints closed.
  • Overall, 99.2% of complaints were closed within 20 working days in 2020-21 Quarter 3. All of the 23 train operators met the industry requirement to close 95% of their complaints within 20 working days.
  • Passenger watchdogs closed 232 appeals in 2020-21 Quarter 3, a 26.6% decrease compared to 2019-20 Quarter 3. The main reason to appeal was related to ticketing and refunds policy, with 40.9% of all appeals.

Previous statistical releases

Data tables