Just 46% of CrossCountry passengers said they were satisfied with how the company handled delays – a figure that plunges to one in four when disruption is not managed well, according to a major survey by watchdog Transport Focus.
The Arriva Group-owned operator, based in Birmingham, received the lowest score in the study, which questioned more than 100,000 passengers across Britain over six months to the end of March. Only 72% of CrossCountry’s stops at stations arrived within three minutes of the schedule, and 7% of services were cancelled outright.
“CrossCountry ranked worst train operator as survey finds only 46% satisfied with delay handling, and 7% of services cancelled.”
Overall satisfaction with the operator stood at 79%, while 77% of those surveyed said they were happy with the punctuality and reliability of their journey. The figures put CrossCountry at the bottom of the table, far behind the best-performing operators. Hull Trains topped the list with 94% satisfaction, followed by LNER at 93%.
Transport Focus has instructed CrossCountry to improve the passenger experience, reduce delays, provide better information during disruption and cut overcrowding on services. The watchdog’s chief executive, Alex Robertson, said the report was “the first of its kind” and expressed optimism that the railway would use it to foster “a more customer focused culture”. He warned: “We’ll be holding them to account to make sure they do.”
Robertson noted 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 acknowledged it must do more. Mark Anderson, the operator’s customer and commercial director, said: “We know we must do more to deliver the service our customers rightly deserve.” He pointed to refurbished trains that were “transforming” journeys and a new timetable “delivering better regional connectivity”. Anderson added: “We’re always working to improve onboard experience – from cleaning to catering, better wi-fi and clearer information during disruption. In particular, we know that crowding is a challenge and we’re working with industry partners to explore all possible options to ease this.”
CrossCountry runs long-distance services linking cities including Cambridge, Cardiff and Manchester. The survey also found that disabled passengers reported lower satisfaction than non-disabled passengers – 85% compared with 87% overall.
The poor ranking comes as the rail industry faces mounting pressure to rebuild trust after years of strikes and disruption. For CrossCountry, the challenge is clear: turn around a reputation that leaves almost a quarter of its passengers dissatisfied, and convince them that delays, when they happen, can still be handled well.