Here’s the UK rail companies that had the most complaints last year

The UK rail watchdog has revealed how many complaints train passengers made and what is the main cause of frustration.

Some train companies saw a sharp increase in customer grievances last year, new figures from the Office of Rail and Road show.

There were fewer train passenger complaints between April and September last year compared to the previous year overall, while a handful of operators recorded an increase in complaints.

Caledonian Sleeper, Avanti West Coast, Lumo and London North Eastern Railway were at the top of the list for the number of complaints they received.

Here is a breakdown of the rate of complaints – and why passengers had a bone to pick.

How many complaints train companies had

There were 158,721 complaints between April 1 and September 30 last year – a 9% drop from the previous six months, the regulator said.

At the same time, there were 8% more journeys, suggesting some improvement for passengers plagued by delays, cancellations and disruption on the railways in recent years.

However, it was not smooth sailing for all passengers as a handful of operators saw a sharp increase in complaints.

Caledonian Sleeper recorded 243 complaints per 100,000 journeys between April and September – a 4% increase on the same period in the previous year.

Avanti West Coast saw 103 complaints per 100,000 journeys, while the rate of complaints decreased by 21% year-on-year.

Lumo had 98 complaints per 100,000 journeys, but it saw an improvement compared to the same period the previous year as complaints decreased by 50%.

LNER recorded 94 complaints per 100,000 journeys and it saw a 21% increase in complaints between April and September compared to the same period the previous year.

Metro understands that the increase in complaints from LNER customers is due to disruption outside the company’s control such as overhead wires coming down on two occasions, loss of signalling and a cable theft incident.

London Overground saw a 45% rise in the rate of complaints with 0.6 complaints per 100,000 journeys, but even with this increase, its overall complaints rate was negligible.

Heathrow Express recorded a 28% increase in complaints with 32 complaints per 100,000 journeys in the latest six months data is available.

Heathrow Express and Southeastern were the quickest to get back to customers, responding to 100% of complaints within 20 working days.

Why did passengers complain?

Punctuality and reliability were the main sources of frustration for passengers.

It accounted for 17% of all complaints between April and September.

Passengers without enough room to sit or stand also made complaints, with 12.1% of complaints made for this reason.

The third biggest reason for grievance was over facilities on board trains, accounting for 7.7% of all complaints.

However, train travel in the UK is set for a major overhaul under the Labour government’s railway renationalisation plan.

The first three operators up for the overhaul were named last month after the government passed a new law allowing it to bring the operators back into public ownership.

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