A new Rail Customer Experience Survey from Transport Focus shows punctuality on TfW services has jumped from 82 per cent to 88 per cent, the largest rise of any operator in the UK. Overall satisfaction with TfW also climbed to 91 per cent, up from 88 per cent last quarter.
Transport Focus says the improvement reflects better day‑to‑day performance on the Wales and Borders network, but warns that passengers remain frustrated by delays, cancellations and poor information when things go wrong.
Across Great Britain, national punctuality has slipped from 86 per cent to 83 per cent, and disruption handling remains the lowest‑rated part of the rail experience at just 48 per cent.
Nick Millington, route director at Network Rail Wales & Borders, said the results showed progress after a difficult winter.
“We’ve been working hard over the last three years and we’re now seeing the best performance on the network since 2022,” he said. “We recognise there are clearly parts of the network where more work needs to be done.”
Network Rail said storms Claudia and Chandra caused major damage and disruption, including washed‑out track near Abergavenny and a shutdown in Shrewsbury, but trains still ran ahead of target on 26 of 28 days in January.
Marie Daly, chief operating officer for Transport for Wales, said investment in new trains was helping to improve reliability.
“Brand‑new trains across the network offer our customers better seating, improved information and general comfort, but they also provide us with more resilience allowing a more punctual and connected network,” she said.
Transport Focus highlighted TfW as one of only a handful of operators to see improvements across multiple measures. The scorecard shows TfW scoring 91 per cent for personal safety, 84 per cent for train cleanliness, and 83 per cent for crowding, all above or in line with the national picture.
Network Rail and TfW say further improvements are on the way. Network Rail says the Wales and Borders route added 300,000 extra station stops in 2024 and another 100,000 in 2025, with more timetable changes due this year. The organisation also says TfW has now completed “99 per cent of planned electrification” for the South Wales Metro, which it says will support greener and more reliable services.
Transport Focus says it will continue to push the industry to improve performance, warning that delays still translate into “thousands of late school pickups, disrupted get‑togethers and missed appointments”.
The watchdog will publish a deeper six‑month analysis of the new survey later this year.
