Virgin Trains hits back after being named operator with the highest rate of complaints

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Virgin Trains has reacted angrily to being named as the operator with the highest rate of complaints for the 11th quarter in a row.

A report issued by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) shows that, between April and June, one in 500 passengers on Virgin Trains West Coast complained - a much higher rate than any other franchised train operator.

A spokeswoman for the firm said the score was high because Virgin Trains makes it easier than any other train company to provide feedback: “We want to know about any problems on our routes so we can put them right. As a result, complaints are not the best way to measure passenger satisfaction.”

“In the most recent independent survey by the industry watchdog, Transport Focus, 88 per cent of Virgin Trains passengers on the west coast thought we provided a good service, and we are consistently at or near the top of the long-distance operators.”

The next highest complaint rates were one in 700 on Virgin’s new East Coast franchise, and one in 1,000 on Chiltern Railways - which was this week judged the best train operator in the Independent Travel Awards. The operator in fourth place was Great Western Railway - formerly First Great Western - with one in 1,700 passengers complaining.

By far the best performance was on the London Overground, with only one in 30,000 passengers unhappy. The ORR says: “This low rate of complaints can be explained by this operator being a relatively recent service with new rolling stock in use and a higher frequency of service compared with earlier operators.”

The average complaint rate for the rail industry is one passenger in 3,300. The rate of grumbles has fallen steeply since records began in 2002/3; at that time one in 900 passengers complained.

The largest single cause of unhappiness is punctuality, accounting for one in three complaints. Ticketing and refunds are next, followed by on-board facilities. The report reveals that the toilets on trains run by First TransPennine Express, which connects cities in northern England and southern Scotland, generate a greater volume of complaints than those on any other rail company.