Responding to London TravelWatch’s survey results, Scott Brightwell, Operations & Safety Director at Southeastern said:
"Southeastern is committed to a better, more reliable, and sustainable railway for customers and taxpayers and so we welcome the feedback of almost 530 people who have participated in London TravelWatch’s (LTW) survey; 82% of whom are content with or have seen improvements following timetable changes. This is similar to our own regular survey results that show Southeastern’s customer satisfaction has risen for the fourth consecutive week to sit at 86%. Nearly half (48%) of respondents to LTW’s survey said they had been positively impacted by the December timetable.
“Southeastern strives to be a reliable and punctual railway, and as we reflect on this survey we are pleased cancellation levels have just recorded the lowest level in 6 years at 1.1% (excluding the early months of Covid) compared to the industry average of 3.1%. Punctuality continues to improve with 73% of our trains stopping at each station within 59 seconds of the time they were meant to (the best in over a year and better than the industry average); and over 99% of trains within 15 minutes of their booked time. So, we are pleased that 36% of respondents to London TravelWatch’s survey say our trains are more punctual than previously.
“We will continue to adapt as travel patterns change to match our services with changes in demand. From later this month we will be providing more direct services to Charing Cross on the Bexleyheath Line with an hourly direct off-peak service to Charing Cross, which will run Monday to Saturday from 22 May. These trains will be in addition to those provided by the current timetable, meaning that over 300 services will operate each week directly to and from Charing Cross on the Bexleyheath line.
“We are also working hard to improve customer experience, so on weekends we’re providing more services on our newest Class 707 ‘City Beam’ trains from May 22 and will introduce more 707 trains on weekdays later this year. We look forward to continuing to meet regularly with London TravelWatch.
“At our core, we are a public service and we look forward to continuing to build a collaborative relationship with London TravelWatch, to listening to and acting upon feedback from them – and all our customers and stakeholders – and making our railway the best it can be.”
