Issue 23Nov 2018

News Roundup

Independent rail complaints service launched

Disgruntled rail passengers now have the opportunity to appeal via an independent complaints service. 


Figures from the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman show that only 28% of people who made a complaint to a rail company in 2017/18 were satisfied with the outcome. The Dispute Resolution Ombudsman has been agreed to act as an independent body to hold train companies to account after a year of repeated strikes and widespread disruption.

It is thought around 6,000 complaints a year will be referred to the new service. The majority of complaints last year were about punctuality and reliability, difficulties buying a ticket and the lack of seats.

Passengers can use the ombudsman if they are unhappy with the final response from a rail company or if their complaint has not been resolved within 40 working days. This will hope to improve rail transport for thousands of commuters.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said the launch of the ombudsman would "make sure passengers are heard and that they get a fair deal when train companies fall short".

Jacqueline Starr, a managing director at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said the scheme would give passengers "even greater confidence that we're doing as much as we can to get to a fair outcome".

Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus, said he expected the service to "drive improvements to the way most train operators handle passenger complaints".

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