Expensive ad campaign can't mask poor performance

The latest report from the strategic Rail Authority shows that nationally there is a slow improvement in train performance.

At a local level, however, the numbers suggest a mixed situation with regards to punctuality. In the quarter to to June 2004 84.5% of trains ran on time up by 0.2% compared to the same period last year.

South West Trains slipped back into last place for both peak and all day operations in the London area for the latest quarter. Over 30% of peak time trains on this network, which serves Chiswick, Putney, Brentford and Wandsworth, where more than 5 minutes late.

The company has recently embarked on a major advertising campaign to boost their battered public image and shake off the label of 'South Worst Trains'. This so far seems to have back-fired with passengers questioning whether the money would have been better spent improving the quality of service. The company attracted criticism recently for failing to keep passengers informed of weekend engineering works. However, users of the Hounslow Loop line have an improved frequency of service to look forward to at the end of this year

Silverlink Trains, which runs the North London Line, continues to do relatively well with its peak service amongst the most reliable in the capital

Nicola Shaw, SRA Managing Director said, "The industry is trying. There are signs that where the effort has been greatest it is succeeding. But it's not yet universal or consistent. That level of effort is required all the way through everything we do, throughout the industry, so that passengers experience the results of those efforts."

Complaints per 100,000 journeys between April and June 2004 decreased by 10.1% compared with the same period the previous year. London and South East Operators showed a decrease in complaints of 41.2% over the same period.

Public Performance Measure by train operating company

Percentage of trains arriving on time 2004-05 Q1

¹ Formerly Thames Trains

September 28, 2004