The UK has some of the highest railway season ticket prices in Europe. Many passengers spend up to 13% of their monthly salary just to get to work. Fares have risen three times as fast as wages over the last five years.
 
It is hardly surprising that, according to the latest figures from industry watchdog Transport
Focus, 48% of passengers did not feel the service they received was value for money.
 
Successive governments have justified the high price of tickets on the grounds that rail users should pay a significant proportion of the costs of running the railway, but it is unclear whether travellers are noticing the results of the much-vaunted rail investments.
 
In the coming months the Transport Select Committee will be examining passenger satisfaction in relation both to fares and other factors.
 
At a glance the available data shows a mixed picture. Satisfaction rates vary widely depending on the length of the journey, which aspect of the journey is being measured, and on which route. For example, overall satisfaction by train operator varied between 73% and 97%. Satisfaction with whether there is sufficient room for all passengers to sit or stand on individual routes varied between 46% and 92%. Such wide variations show that more should be done.
 
Transport Focus found that the single biggest factor of concern was train punctuality and reliability (36%). 23% of passengers nationally are not satisfied with the reliability of their service. The latest figures show 47 million passenger journeys were either cancelled or significantly delayed in the 12 months to March 2015.
 
When trains are sufficiently delayed, passengers have a right to be compensated for the inconvenience, usually if a train is delayed by 30 minutes or more. In theory this should make frequently delayed services improve their performance. Sadly, the data shows that the reality is different...