This is how Yorkshire's rail operators have ranked on customer satisfaction

Released this morning, the Autumn 2019 National Rail Passenger Survey has revealed that just 72 per cent of Northern customers are satisfied with their journey.

This compares to CrossCountry, which has a satisfaction level of 80 per cent, and London North Eastern Railway (LNER), where 89 per cent of customers are satisfied.

A total of 1,256 Northern customers were surveyed for the results. Of these, a total of 14 per cent said they were dissatisfied with the service, and the same amount said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

This marks a seven per cent decrease in satisfied customers when compared to the Spring 2019 survey, though just a one per cent decrease from the Autumn 2018 results.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps intended to strip Northern Rail of its franchise.

David Brown, Managing Director for Northern, said: “Although, year-on-year, Northern has improved in almost half the categories customers were surveyed on, the overall results are disappointing. However, when you consider the challenges faced by the rail industry in 2019, and in the north of England in particular, they are not surprising.

"We are sorry to any customer whose experience of Northern has been disappointing; our customers deserve the best possible rail service and we are working hard, alongside our partners, to improve performance.

“We operate almost 3,000 services each weekday on a complex network shared with several other operators and freight carriers. This has led to more congested railways across the North and, as a result, there will be times when our customers’ journeys are disrupted and impacts on punctuality.

"Around 70% of all delays are outside of Northern’s control and we continue to work closely with colleagues from Network Rail, and the other operators, to keep this disruption to a minimum and our customers on the move.

“In addition, during the weeks that the NRPS survey was carried out, we saw a number of extreme weather events, including unprecedented levels of flooding in September and November, which have further impacted performance.

“Northern is delivering a £600m investment in new and refurbished trains and better stations which will improve service reliability and provide a much better journey experience for customers. Customers in the north west will also see an improved Sunday service following a new agreement with our drivers.”

When asked about how train companies deal with delays, just 34 per cent of Northern customers said they were satisfied with the way their issues were handled, while 35 per cent were dissatisfied.

A total of 47 per cent of TransPennine Express customers were satisfied with the way delays were handled, compared to 59 per cent of LNER customers, 48 per cent of CrossCountry customers and 56 per cent of Virgin Train customers.

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “LNER is committed to providing the very best customer experience for everyone who travels with us.

"We continue to build on the work we’ve already done to deliver even more value for money; making travel simpler, smarter and keeping the customer at the heart of all we do.”

Overall satisfaction, results in full:

London North Eastern Railway: Passengers surveyed 948; % satisfied or good, 89; % neither nor, 6; % dissatisfied or poor 5.

Northern: Passengers surveyed 1,256; % satisfied or good, 72; % neither nor, 14; % dissatisfied or poor 14.

CrossCountry: Passengers surveyed 1,209; % satisfied or good, 80; % neither nor, 9; % dissatisfied or poor 10.

TransPennine Express: Passengers surveyed 846; % satisfied or good, 79; % neither nor, 8; % dissatisfied or poor 12.

Virgin Trains: Passengers surveyed 969; % satisfied or good, 85; % neither nor, 8; % dissatisfied or poor 8.

How well train company deals with delays, results in full:

London North Eastern Railway: Passengers surveyed 296; % satisfied or good, 59; % neither nor, 24; % dissatisfied or poor 17.

Northern: Passengers surveyed 412; % satisfied or good, 34; % neither nor, 31; % dissatisfied or poor 35.

CrossCountry: Passengers surveyed 395; % satisfied or good, 48; % neither nor, 29; % dissatisfied or poor 23.

TransPennine Express: Passengers surveyed 846; % satisfied or good, 79; % neither nor, 8; % dissatisfied or poor 12.

Virgin Trains: Passengers surveyed 328; % satisfied or good, 56; % neither nor, 28; % dissatisfied or poor 16.