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Monday 9 Feb 2026

Passengers seeing improved satisfaction across Wales & Borders as train performance continues to rise

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

New figures show that punctuality and overall satisfaction has risen for passengers across Wales.

The data, released by independent watchdog Transport Focus, as part of its quarterly scorecard from October to December 2025, shows improved passenger satisfaction across the Wales and Borders route, reflecting ongoing efforts by Network Rail, Transport for Wales, and industry partners to deliver a more reliable and customer-focused railway.

Passenger satisfaction has risen from 82 per cent to 89 per cent for punctuality which is the biggest ever recorded quarter-on -quarter improvement.

And overall customer satisfaction increased from 88 per cent to an impressive 91 per cent compared with the previous quarter.

Nick Millington, Route Director at Network Rail Wales & Borders, said: "We’re thrilled with the recent report released from Transport Focus, which reflects our unwavering focus on improving the reliability of train services. We’ve been working hard over the last three years and we’re now seeing the best performance on the network since 2022.

"We recognise there are clearly parts of the network where more work needs to be done, however we are determined to conquer those challenges and continue to support Transport for Wales in operating the safest and most reliable services possible".

The improvement comes alongside consistently strong operational performance, delivery despite the challenges of storm season. Multiple severe weather events have tested the network this winter, including Storm Claudia, which washed away part of the track near Abergavenny in November, and Storm Chandra in January, which brought Shrewsbury to a temporary halt. Impressively, during the four‑week reporting period in January 2026, trains ran ahead of target on 26 out of 28 days.

This is in addition to the everyday demands of running a busy operational railway; managing more than 1,500 daily services, around 600 freight trains each month, keeping the public safe at the 1,000+ level crossings Network Rail own and manage, and responding to an average of 65 trespass incidents every month.

All of this, while embedding significant safety improvements, to make the railway a safer place to work for teams out on the track.

Marie Daly, Chief Operating Officer for Transport for Wales said: “The latest Transport Focus survey results demonstrate how our investment into our rail services combined with our fantastic colleagues who are living our values every day, are positively impacting the customer experience.

“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.

“As always, we’re continuing to improve and are excited to deliver more changes this year.” 

Travelling in the right direction

 A number of key improvements in recent years are helping to deliver a better experience for passengers and communities.

In 2024, the Wales and Borders route added around 300,000 additional station stops to the timetable, with a further 100,000 added in 2025, increasing opportunities for people to travel by rail.

The December 2025 timetable change doubled the frequency of trains between Chester and Wrexham, alongside a series of interventions to strengthen the base timetable across the route. In May 2026, train frequency along the North Wales Coast is set to increase by a further 50 per cent.

Closer collaboration has also been introduced through five ‘T-Network’ partnerships across the route, bringing track and train teams together with local stakeholders to focus on targeted performance improvements.

These active groups now cover:

• Cambrian Line
  •   Central and West Wales
  •   Rheilffordd lleol Gogledd Cymru (North Wales T-Network)
  •   The Marches
  •   South Wales

This approach has also supported the local economy by boosting tourism, trade and ticket revenue, while delivering more than £2.3 million in efficiencies between 2024 and 2025 - through improved engineering planning and smarter ways of working.

Passengers are also benefiting from the rollout of new trains across the route now in service, and Transport for Wales recently reached a major milestone by completing 99% of planned electrification as part of the South Wales Metro - providing greener and more reliable services.

Looking ahead, in February 2026 Network Rail Wales and Borders jointly with Transport for Wales submitted their five-year performance improvement plan to the National Performance Board and look forward to driving further improvements and benefits for passengers.

Transport Focus historically collected data only on the passenger experience of the train operator. However, the new Rail Customer Experience Survey launched last year provides the opportunity for Transport Focus to include Network Rail data in their scorecard to provide a valuable tool, providing both sides of the story to the customer. This is the second quarter for the new reporting system.