Maintaining and improving Britain’s railway stations

Survey of stations

Between April and July 2004, we visited a sample of 120 railway stations to see at first hand the facilities provided to passengers and the upkeep of stations. We visited 30 stations from size categories A and B (national and regional hub stations), 30 from size category C (important feeder stations), 30 from size categories D and E (medium and small staffed stations) and 30 from size category F (small unstaffed stations). Our selection of stations was random, using interval sampling. Visits were carried out without prior arrangement and were conducted by staff from the NAO and volunteers from RPC regional committees, using a 54-question checklist developed in consultation with the SRA, the Rail Passengers Council, Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies.

An example of the station survey checklist and a summary of the results of these inspections, which were analysed for us by MORI, are available below.

•  Station Survey Checklist (467 KB)
•  Results of NAO Survey of a Sample of Stations (203 KB)

Surveys of TOCs, PTEs and local authorities

Between June and December 2004, we carried out a survey of TOCs in Britain. The survey collected information on TOCs’ expenditure and income from stations, their past, current and projected investment in station enhancements and their views and experiences of station management and improvements.

Between August and October 2004 we also carried out surveys of the seven Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs), Transport for London and 74 local transport authorities in Britain to collect information on their investment/spending on stations and their monitoring of station quality, and to ascertain their views on the contributions of the SRA, Network Rail and TOCs to station improvements. We received responses from all PTEs, Transport for London and 31 local transport authorities. The figures in Figure 4 of the report for expenditure on maintenance, cleaning and operations and improvements at franchised stations are extrapolations from the survey responses, based on the proportion of all stations covered by the responses.

Summaries of the results of the TOC, PTE and local transport authority surveys are available below.

•  Results of NAO Summer 2004 Survey Of Train Operating Companies (TOCs) (62 KB)
•  Results of NAO Summer 2004 Survey Of Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) and Transport for London (TfL) (51 KB)
•  Results of NAO Summer 2004 Survey Of Local Transport Authorities (47 KB)