CrossCountry branded worst train operator in Britain after damning survey

CrossCountry has been named the worst train operator in Britain after a passenger survey found fewer than half of customers were satisfied with how it handles delays. The watchdog Transport Focus, which questioned more than 100,000 passengers over six months to the end of March, gave the Birmingham-based train company the lowest score of any operator. Just 72% of CrossCountry's stops at stations arrived within three minutes of the schedule, while 7% of its services were cancelled altogether. Of those surveyed, 79% said they were satisfied overall with the Arriva Group-owned operator, 77% were happy with punctuality and reliability, and only 46% were satisfied with how the company dealt with delays. Transport Focus has now ordered CrossCountry to improve the passenger experience, reduce delays, provide better information during disruption and cut overcrowding on its services. The operator admitted it 'must do more to deliver the service our customers rightly deserve', despite claiming slight improvements in some areas. Hull Trains achieved the best overall satisfaction score at 94%, followed by LNER with 93%. Nationally, 87% of passengers said they were satisfied with their journey, but disabled passengers reported lower satisfaction at 85%. Alex Robertson, Transport Focus chief executive, said: 'This is the first report of its kind. I'm optimistic the railway understands the importance of using it to create a more customer focused culture and we'll be holding them to account to make sure they do.' He added that more than nine in 10 people would report a positive experience if a delay was 'handled well – a remarkably high figure given their train is late – but this falls to one in four when it isn't'. CrossCountry runs long-distance services connecting cities including Cambridge, Cardiff and Manchester. Mark Anderson, the operator's customer and commercial director, said its refurbished trains were 'transforming' journeys and its new timetable was 'delivering better regional connectivity across the country'. 'We're always working to improve onboard experience – from cleaning to catering, better wi-fi and clearer information during disruption,' he said. 'In particular, we know that crowding is a challenge and we're working with industry partners to explore all possible options to ease this.'