The results of the largest survey about the experiences of train passengers throughout the UK have been released.

The survey runs continuously throughout the year, and the latest figures cover the six months from October 2025 to March 2026, with around 10,000 passengers a month being asked for their views on Britain’s railways.

Out of over 100,000 passengers surveyed, 87 per cent said they were satisfied with their journey.

The worst-performing train operator was CrossCountry, where 79 per cent of passengers said they were satisfied, whilst 94 per cent of Hull Trains passengers were satisfied with their journeys, the highest of any train operator.

Closely following Hull Trains were London North Eastern Railway (LNER) with 93 per cent, and Merseyrail, Heathrow Express, and ScotRail with 92 per cent.

As well as CrossCountry passengers expressing the lowest satisfaction, only 77 per cent were satisfied with the punctuality and reliability of CrossCountry train journeys, and just 46 per cent were satisfied with how it dealt with delays.

As a result, CrossCountry has been requested to improve passengers’ experiences, reduce delays, provide better passenger information during disruptions, and reduce overcrowded services.

In recent months, CrossCountry passengers have faced significant delays, disruption, and overcrowded services, and from January to March this year, only 71.9 per cent of trains arrived at station stops on time, which is defined as arriving early or less than three minutes after the scheduled time. Also, seven per cent of CrossCountry trains were cancelled.

Other surveys into the experiences of train passengers include those undertaken by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) into whether passengers requiring assistance received the help they had booked.

“These results show that it’s possible for the railway to get it right, but that this isn’t happening consistently enough. The gap between the worst and best performing operators is striking, and it also shows that disabled passengers are experiencing a worse service than everyone else.“What stands out is how much difference handling delays well can make. More than nine in ten people will report a positive experience if a delay is handled well – a remarkably high figure given their train is late –, but this falls to one in four when it isn’t. Fixing this is well within the railway’s control and should be a priority, particularly when we know passenger trust in the railway is low. This is the first report of its kind. I’m optimistic the railway understands the importance of using it to create a more customer-focused culture, and we’ll be holding them to account to make sure they do.”

Alex Robertson, Chief Executive of the independent watchdog, Transport Focus