Biggest ever rail passenger satisfaction survey launches nationwide

The biggest passenger satisfaction survey in the history of Britain’s railway has launched.   

The Rail Customer Experience Survey marks another important step in putting customers at the heart of the railway.  

Approximately ten thousand passengers a month will be asked their views on the rail network, while travelling to their destination, with the aim of speaking to an estimated 130,000 passengers every year.  

Passengers will be able to voice their experiences and share their views on their journeys and areas for improvement.  

The first set of results will become publicly available on an interactive online dashboard in Autumn 2025. Passenger views will be used to help train operators improve the day-to-day service for passengers and inform industry decision-making for the improvement of rail services. This way, they can be at the forefront of driving systemic change to improve Britain’s railways and make sure operators are delivering what customers want and need. 

The survey is a collaboration between Rail Delivery Group, Department for Transport, Network Rail, Transport Focus and the Customer and Revenue Growth team, previously part of the Great British Railways Transition Team.  

Jacqueline Starr, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Rail Delivery Group said: 

“The industry is excited to offer this new and meaningful way for customers’ voices to be effectively and consistently heard across the rail network. No matter which train operator you travel with or where you are headed, you’ll have the opportunity to speak directly to us and know that you’re being listened to.  

“We’re going to make it easier for customers to share their views with the industry, and it will help the industry put those views into practice. Making a real difference for customers. And, as the industry moves towards the creation of Great British Railways, this helps us to make sure that where there is best practice, it is spread across the network so that everyone can benefit, no matter where they live.” 

Rail Minister Lord Hendy said: 

“Great British Railways is putting passengers back at the heart of our transport network. Hearing directly from those that use our trains about how to improve them will help us return services to a standard we can be proud of again. 

“We are proud to deliver this ambitious project alongside organisations across the rail sector, coming together to commit to change and improvements for the nation’s railways.” 

Laura Shoaf, Chair of Shadow Great British Railways said:  

“The launch of this survey marks a significant step forward for Britain’s railways.  By launching the largest-ever passenger survey, Shadow Great British Railways partners are putting customers at the heart of everything we do. 

“Talking directly to ten thousand passengers every month — while they travel — will give us an unprecedented understanding of the real passenger experience. 

"As we progress toward establishing Great British Railways, this survey is a vital tool to identify what’s working well and best practices are shared across the entire network — so that all passengers benefit from consistent, high-quality service.” 

Natasha Grice, Director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus said: 

“It’s critical that we listen to what passengers tell us are the most important areas to improve upon when it comes to the experiences they are having across the rail industry. The new survey is going to do exactly that, by providing a significant increase in the amount of feedback we hear. This can only be a good thing, and will help us all to remain focused on delivering improvements to the passenger experience. 

“As well as publishing our quarterly scorecard highlighting how operators are performing across a number of industry metrics, we will be producing a 6 – monthly official statistics report starting in May 2026.” 

Suzanne Donnelly, Customer & Revenue Growth Director for Network Rail said:  

"The launch of this survey is a powerful example of the whole railway sector coming together to deliver a step change in rail’s customer insight capability. 

“Developed collaboratively by the Rail Delivery Group, Network Rail, the Department for Transport, train operating companies, and other partners, this programme puts the passenger voice at the centre of our shared decision-making.  

“It lays a crucial foundation for understanding current customer needs and creating the right conditions for Great British Railways — which will ultimately help to rebuild public trust and encourage more people to travel by train." 

This survey replaces the National Rail Passenger Survey and comes in at more than double the total sample size. To be held continuously with no planned end date, the rolling survey will cover the entire rail industry, bringing together elements from previous industry-level surveys for the first time. This new methodology leverages new technology to pinpoint the train a respondent is travelling on. It will help to fully reflect the everyday experience of rail passengers, providing a common framework for the whole industry to measure passenger satisfaction, with results data providing new, universal benchmarks that can be compared across the whole network.