How Are We Performing?

Rail Passenger Rights and Obligations Regulations – Article 28

Hull Trains Quality Standards – Rail Service Quality Report for Financial Year 2023/24

Contents

1) Information and tickets
2) Punctuality and general principles to cope with disruption to services
3) Cancellation of services
4) Cleanliness of rolling stock and station facilities
5) Customer satisfaction survey
6) Complaint handling refunds and compensation
7) Passenger Assistance 

1. Information and ticket sales

Before travel
Information about our travel classes and availability of onboard services is available at Your Experience and from our Customer Services team.

Provision of information during the journey
All of our trains have clear signage throughout, giving information about the location and availability of onboard toilets and priority seating. Customers can also ask any member of our onboard team for this information.

Information regarding the next station will be announced onboard by our On Board Managers and automated announcing system.

In the case of delays the On Board Manager will announce information at appropriate intervals.

The On Board Manager will also make announcements about main connecting services.

Information about incidents which cause significant disruption is available from our Customer Services team and on our Live Disruption webpage.

Safety information can be found onboard, and the On Board Manager will also make announcements shortly before departure. Further announcements are made shortly after departure.
How requests for information are handled at the station
As we do not operate any stations, requests for information are handled by the station operator who provides staff or Help Points to assist with any queries.
How information about train schedules, tariffs and platforms is provided
Our train timetables are available on our Timetables webpage or through our app which can be downloaded from your local app store.

Information about train platforms can be found on our app in the ‘live trains’ section, on the National Rail website and on customer information screens at stations.

Ticket buying facilities
Customers can buy tickets for travel in advance or on the day of travel using our app or our website or from our On Board Manager on the train.
Availability of staff at the station for information provision and ticket sales
Although we do not operate any stations there are staff at most stations at which we call.  Details of the staffing provision for each station can be found on our Station Information webpage.
Where there are no staff, Help Points are provided to allow customers to gain further information about services.

There are ticket selling facilities, be it a staffed booking office or ticket vending machine at each station at which we call.  Details of these can be found on our Station Information webpage.
How information to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility is provided
Information on accessibility, access conditions and availability of onboard facilities for disabled people, people with reduced mobility and older people, is available on request from all staffed stations at which we call, our Passenger Assist team on 0800 316 1323, the Passenger Assist webpage; through the Passenger Assist app by Transreport (which is available from your local app store) or using our WhatsApp number on 07816123149, available 24/7 except Christmas Day and Boxing Day when we are closed.  
 

2. Punctuality and general principles to cope with disruption to services

Delays
At Hull Trains we set ourselves high standards of train punctuality and make every effort to get passengers to their destination on time. 

The table below shows our performance relating to delays from the start of Period 01 (01/04/23) 2023/24 to the end of Period 13 (31/03/24) 2023/24.
  
Our on board teams will provide updated announcements will be made onboard the affected within two minutes of being notified of disruption or the train having come to a stand out of course, then at least every 10 minutes (or if the situation changes, whichever is soonest).

The 10 minute timescale is adhered to even if no new information has been received and the disruption has reached a steady state.

Information about connections and onward travel will be available from the On Board Manager.  They will also make an announcement regarding whether compensation is applicable.

We will make every effort to give customers a refreshments (not including alcohol) appropriate to the circumstances, location and duration of the delay.

Where a delay or cancellation of a Hull Trains service means that you have missed the last connection of the day or that you will not reach your destination at a reasonable time, we will either arrange for transport back to where you started your journey (and then allow you to travel the next day) or to your destination.  If this is not possible, we will provide overnight accommodation so that you can travel the next day.  We will not pay for accommodation which has not been authorised by ourselves.  If you decide not to travel as a result of a delay or cancellation of your service, and if we sold you the ticket, we will give you a full refund; otherwise, you should seek a refund from the point of purchase (unless this is the return portion of your ticket, in which case we will refund this).
Disruptions
When services are disrupted, we will aim to issue information through travel bulletins on local radio and television, and also through social media such as X (Twitter). Live travel information is also available on our Live Disruption webpage. 
Delay Compensation Policy
For delays to our services we will make the following compensation available to customers:
 
All ticket holders may apply for compensation. The level of compensation is outlined below:
For journey delays* of between: 

To apply for Delay Repay compensation please visit our online Delay Repay webpage or collect a form from one of the stations at which we call.

To apply for a refund, customers should go back to their point of purchase to obtain this. If you bought through the Hull Trains website, app or via our Passenger Assist Telesales team, please visit our Refund webpage.
 

3. Cancellation of services

When trains are cancelled, we provide the same information and help we give to customers affected by delays, and the same compensation policy applies.

The table below shows our performance relating to cancellations from the start of Period 1 (01/04/23) 2023/24 to the end of Period 13 (31/03/24) 2023/24.  We improved performance relating to cancellations compared to the previous year, despite some significant disruptions.

4. Cleanliness of rolling stock and station facilities

Train Cleaning and Cleaning Intervals
Our trains are cleaned after each commercial service and we also undertake periodic deep cleaning operations. On all services we have in journey cleaners that focus on maintaining the overall level of cleanliness en-route. 
Air conditioning and air quality
All of our trains are equipped with air conditioning. Should this fail our On Board Manager will do everything they can to move customers to an alternative carriage.

Each of our 5 trains has 5 air condition units on board. Our performance for these in the 2023/24 financial year was:

Availability of toilets
Our trains are fitted with 5 toilets, of which 2 are accessible toilets (1 in First Class and 1 in Standard Class). Our performance for the 2023/24 financial year was:

Performance area	Actual
Number of toilets out of service	17
Performance area	Actual (Days)
Length of time that these toilets were out of service	42

5. Customer satisfaction survey

Historically we have monitored customer satisfaction using the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) provided by Transport Focus and information obtained through the Wavelength system operated by the Rail Delivery Group. Since the pandemic NRPS surveys have been suspended, and wavelength feedback has been negligible, but we have now commissioned our own research to understand current customer sentiment.

Our January 2024 survey, found an overall satisfaction score of 96%, which during the period when NRPS was commissioned was often an industry leading score. 

We also survey customers who have contacted us both pre and post journey using our contact centre, as well as operating a mystery shopping scheme.
All this customer feedback is used across the business by senior management to direct long term strategy, and tactically by customer-facing teams to help improve customer service.

6. Complaint handling refunds and compensation

Our Customer Services team is here to correspond with customers who are unhappy with their experience of the service that we provide. Appropriate compensation will be considered on a case by case basis.

We will use the customer’s preferred contact method when responding to a complaint.
Information on how to submit a complaint regarding our services is available on our Feedback webpage and in our Complaints Handling Procedure which can be found on our Support & Contact webpage.

This team also responds in cases where customers praise our service and also passes on suggestions for changes to services as well as complaints and requests for compensation due to delays.
Total number of complaints
The number of complaints received from the start of Period 1 (01/04/23) 2023/24 to the end of Period 13 (31/03/24) 2023/24, was 1513 of which 1230 were closed during this period. It should be noted that some complaints are closed after the reporting year has ended, hence the difference in the figure between those received and closed.
Top 5 categories of complaint
The top 5 complaints categories from the start of Period 1 (01/04/23) 2023/24 to the end of Period 13 (31/03/24) 2023/24, are displayed in the table below:
Complaints processing
Of the complaints received in the 2023/24 financial year:
• 95.7% were closed in 10 working days, against a target of 95%.
• 99.9% closure rate within 20 working days, against a target of 95%.
Our average response time for the approximate calendar year was 2.6 days per complaint (59% faster than last year). Improvement Actions Undertaken
In response to the top 5 complaints from the previous year, we’ve undertaken a lot of work to try to reduce these and it should be noted that overall, we saw a huge 24% reduction in complaints year on year.  This is testament to the skill and focus on customer service delivery throughout the year by our team and even more praiseworthy noting that our passenger numbers increased by 26% during the same period.
‘Ticket and refund policy’ complaints have been linked to a variety of factors, notably strike action taking place on other operators.  This in turn has caused some confusion to customers about when they are entitled to a refund and who is liable where there is an increased ticket cost for an operator that is operating on a strike day (and there is no ticket conveyance).  We have reviewed our ticket refund process site and made some changes to make it clearer when we can accept a refund.  Where claims are rejected we are improving the reasons shared with passengers as to why this is, so that it is clearer to them.  We have also tried to make the signposting to third party ticket retailers clearer.  Understandably we also still see a ‘hangover’ from Covid when Advance ticket refunds were much more relaxed, therefore as full terms and conditions are applied there is clearly still some frustration shared by passengers and reflected in our complaint statistics.
In terms of punctuality and reliability, our train fleet continues to be one of the most reliable of its class within the rail industry, seeing us achieve industry recognition with both a Golden Spanner and Golden Whistle award.  Whilst this category has still attracted complaints, these are a third less than last year.  Unfortunately our right time performance has declined compared to previous years, but our reliability remains strong, with less severe delays affecting passengers than previously.  There have been a number of events, be it disruptive weather, strikes on other operators or other external forces, which have impacted on our ability to operate fully, but it should be noted that the route cause of performance failures are driven by external factors.  Our Performance team continue to work closely with Network Rail to highlight key areas of concern and plan ahead to improve capacity constraints.  We are also strongly advocating the electrification of the line between Templehirst Junction, north of Doncaster and Hull to take advantage of reduced air pollution, as well as quieter, most cost effective energy utilisation.
Complaints in the ‘Facilities on Board’ category have largely been driven by the fact we have had no Standard Class catering until the latter part of 2023.  We brought back Standard Class catering on most services in late 2023 and have built this up to all services from early 2024.  This has received strong support from customers, although it should be noted that the current provision of service is a 12 month trial.  We are using the information gained during this to make efficiencies where we can and ensure that the right products are being sold with the hope that we can continue the service after the trial period.
For complaints relating to ‘The helpfulness and attitude of the staff on the train’, whilst this was our fifth highest category over the past year, these figures were down 14% year on year.  Key drivers of complaint were around ticketing issues on board and adherence to these by our on board team.  We do investigate every single staff complaint to understand if there is something that we can do better in future to improve our response to customers.  Our frontline colleagues are also empowered to deal with many issues at the time to help reduce the need for the customer to make a further complaint.
 
We are continuously reviewing key areas of concern voiced by our passengers and this drives investment for improvement as part of our ongoing business planning process.
 

7. Assistance

There are 2 options for booking assistance:
1. Pre booking
You can book assistance by either using the online booking form on our Passenger Assist webpage, or by calling our dedicated Passenger Assist line on 0800 316 1323, available 24/7 except Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

For the most effective service, we recommend booking and reserving assistance (by the online booking form or phone) 2 hours before you travel.

Customers who are deaf or hard of hearing can use the Text Relay service by adding the prefix 18001 in front of the Passenger Assist line number. A relay assistant will translate your call to text with the Next Generation Text service. To find out more about this service, visit ngts.org.uk
2. Turn-up-and-go
If pre booking 2 hours in advance is not possible, we ask our customers to arrive at least 20 minutes before departure – this is a non-guaranteed assistance booking.

Comprehensive information about the assistance services we provide and what to expect when travelling with us can be found on our Passenger Assist webpage in our Accessible Travel Policy Passenger Leaflet: Making Rail Accessible.
Assistances Completed
In the 2023/24 financial year we carried out approximately 3094 booked assistances and 644 unbooked assistances for passengers.