Our aim is to put passengers at the heart of the railway, making sure that their voice is heard when decisions are being made. This involves:
- capturing passengers’ views through our research, especially satisfaction with services provided, experiences of travelling during Covid-19, and aspirations and priorities for the future.
- influencing ‘big-picture’ issues, such as the current Rail Review, reform of the fares and ticketing structure, and accessibility.
- looking at issues affecting ‘day-to-day’ travel such as passenger information and compensation for delays
- making it easier for passengers to have their say – both with us and directly with the railway.
Rail contracts
Working with operators to help passengers
Our team of stakeholder managers, based around Great Britain, works closely with rail operators. Each area has its own concerns and challenges, so we ensure local passenger needs are considered rather than an ‘average passenger’.
Some of the ways we do this are:
- work with customer services teams to ensure complaints and issues are resolved well
- give feedback on changes to timetables and services, and proposed works
- promote accessibility
- support initiatives like customer panels and meet the manager sessions
- link up with bus and other transport operators to help make effective interchanges
- advise on proposed events and marketing campaigns.
When the pandemic hit and the Government advised people to only travel for essential reasons, Transport Focus successfully campaigned for the removal of admin fees on Advance rail tickets that had to be changed.
Our latest updates
During the pandemic, train operators made some cuts to services. When parents made us aware that this was impacting on students getting to college safely and on time, we stepped in to put pressure on Transport for Wales to review the timetable. As a result, it reinstated key services. It also added more carriages on busy trains, and additional replacement bus services, to support social distancing.