Background Information
Railfuture's Passenger Group deals with issues on the passenger rail network. It aims to build strong links with Train Operating Companies (TOCs), Department for Transport (DfT), Rail Delivery Group (formerly ATOC), Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Transport Focus (TF), London TravelWatch (LTW), Rolling Stock Leasing Companies (RoSCos), local authorities and other rail industry partners.
The aim is to identify and publicise good practice in the rail industry and identify the top issues which affect the full range of rail passengers. Encouraging more support for rail, and the retention, improvement and growth of services for users and to encourage non-users to switch to rail.
Passengers - What We Do For Passengers
Passengers' issues:
- Punctuality/reliability
- Fares and ticketing
- Disruption management
- Service Quality
Allison Cosgrove - Head - allison.cosgrove at railfuturescotland.org.uk
Nick Lewis - Secretary - nick.lewis at railfuture.org.uk
Don Peacock - Treasurer - don.peacock at railfuture.org.uk
European Passenger Group - Ian Brown CBE FCILT - ian.brown at railfuture.org.uk
Access issues - Graham Collett - graham.collet at railfuture.org.uk
Station Facilities - Nick Lewis / Ann Hindley
Consultations - Steve Wright - steve.wright at railfuture.org.uk
Railfuture representative at European Passengers' Federation - Dennis Fancett - chair at senrug.co.uk
You can also follow the Passenger Group on Twitter @RailfuturePsngr
See National and Regional Passenger Bodies as at June 2023.
TOC Liaisons
Train Operating Company Name Branch Email West Coast Partnership (Avanti WC) Trevor Bishop North West trevor.bishop at railfuture.org.uk Chiltern Railways Nigel Phillips Thames Valley appletrees at btinternet.com Cross Country Steve Wright West Midlands steve.wright at railfuture.org.uk East Coast (LNER) Allison Cosgrove Scotland scotland at railfuturescotland.org.uk East Midlands (E. Midlands Railway) David Harby East Midlands david.harby at railfuture.org.uk Elizabeth line (formerly TfL Rail) vacancy London & SE londonandsoutheast at railfuture.org.uk Essex Thameside (c2c) vacancy London & SE londonandsoutheast at railfuture.org.uk Greater Anglia Chris Burton East Anglia chris.burton at railfuture.org.uk Greater Western (GWR) vacancy Heathrow Express vacancy London & SE londonandsoutheast at railfuture.org.uk Integrated Kent (Southeastern) Chris Fribbins London & SE chris.fribbins at railfuture.org.uk London Overground (ARL) Roger Blake London & SE roger.blake at railfuture.org.uk London Underground vacancy London & SE londonandsoutheast at railfuture.org.uk Merseyrail Trevor Bishop North West trevor.bishop at railfuture.org.uk Northern Trains Nina Smith Yorkshire nina.smith at railfuture.org.uk Scotland (ScotRail) vacancy Scotland scotland at railfuturescotland.org.uk South West (South Western Railway) Bruce Duncan Wessex bruce.duncan at railfuture.org.uk Thameslink/Southern/Great Northern Neil Middleton London & SE neil.middleton at railfuture.org.uk (Govia Thameslink Railway) TransPennine Trains Andrew Dyson Yorkshire andrew.dyson at railfuture.org.uk Transport for Wales Rail Services Richard Wilcock Wales sowerby01 at yahoo.co.uk West Midlands Trains Colin Major West Midlands colin.major at railfuture.org.uk Eurostar Jerry Alderson East Anglia jerry.alderson at railfuture.org.uk
Open Access Operators
Grand Central (Arriva)Grand Union Trains
Hull Trains (First Group)
Lumo (First Group)
Disruption Study
The Passenger Group carried out a review of disruption handling, seeking input from passengers as well as the rail industry and our own membership. How disruption is handled, both planned and unplanned, remains one of the top concerns for passengers in complaints, stakeholder engagement and national surveys. There is often a focus on the negative side of disruption but equally there are examples of good practice that should be shared across the rail industry, and pioneering work among the train operating companies and Network Rail.Across the UK there are Railfuture TOC liaisons and together with branches, there was a ‘call for evidence’ to rail passengers and the rail industry with an online survey on the Railfuture web site. A final report has been produced based on the responses, and issues raised during the Christmas 2014 planned works, looking at the reasons for disruption and how it is handled. This raises a number of questions for the rail industry and has been widely distributed.
View or download a PDF version of the final Disruption Report.