Passenger rail service complaints
Quarterly statistics on the volume and cause of complaints made to train operating companies, infrastructure managers and passenger watchdogs. 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
Latest statistical release
Passenger rail service complaints October to December 2021
Date published: 07 Apr 2022
Date next published: 30 Jun 2022
Key results
- Passenger rail service complaints closed in the latest quarter (1 October to 31 December 2021) were almost three times (179.2%) higher than the same quarter last year. This reflects the increase in passengers as coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions have eased.
- Compared to the same quarter last year, passenger journeys more than doubled, which contributed to a deterioration in punctuality and reliability and subsequently an increase in complaints. However, overall volumes remain significantly lower than before the pandemic.
- Overall, there were 90,144 complaints closed by train operators in October to December 2021. This represents a rate of 31.6 complaints per 100,000 journeys.
- Overall, 96.7% of complaints were closed within 20 working days in October to December 2021. 20 out of 24 train operators met the industry requirement to make a full response to 95% of complaints within 20 working days.
Previous statistical releases
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2021-22
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2020-21
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2019-20
Data tables
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Quarterly
- Table 4100 - Complaints closed by operator
- Table 4110 - Complaints per 100,000 journeys
- Table 4113 - Complaints per 100,000 journeys by operator
- Table 4130 - Complaints categories
- Table 4133 - Complaints categories by operator
- Table 4150 - Complaints responded to within 10 and 20 working days
- Table 4153 - Complaints responded to within 10 and 20 working days by operator
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Annual
- Table 4123 - Praise per 100,000 journeys by operator (not updated since 2019-20 Quarter 4 due to COVID-19)
- Table 4143 - Complaints by contact method and operator
- Table 4160 - Appeals categories closed by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch
- Table 4163 - Appeals closed by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch by operator
- Table 4180 - National Rail Enquiries telephone service