Commuters back FirstGroup in clash

By ROBERT LEA
Updated:

 

THE vast majority of Liverpool Street's City commuters believe that First Great Eastern should be reinstated after its controversial sacking from the Essex and East Anglian rail franchise.

A survey by the independent market researcher Mori found that 85% of First Great Eastern passengers believe the Strategic Rail Authority should reverse its decision to bar parent company FirstGroup from bidding for a new, enlarged Greater Anglia franchise set to come in next year.

The SRA announced a three-bidder shortlist for the potentially lucrative franchise last month. However, this did not include FirstGroup. Senior SRA sources indicated that FirstGroup had not taken the bid process and its demands for new initiatives as seriously as was expected.

However, the company countered that its Great Eastern record of being one of the consistently best performing train operators on the national network should speak for itself.

The Mori survey, commissioned by FirstGroup, concluded that eight out of 10 passengers preferred that First Great Eastern should be given the opportunity to re-bid for the franchise.

The findings also revealed that around three-quarters of those passengers were satisfied with First's frequency, punctuality and reliability, substantially outperforming ratings for either Anglia Trains or WAGN. Those companies are respectively owned by GB Railways and National Express, who along with Arriva all made the shortlist.

A spokesman for Mori said: 'These are extremely positive scores from customers in a sector where levels of customer satisfaction are not generally that high.'

SRA chief Richard Bowker has risked a damaging row with FirstGroup by refusing to countenance a U-turn on his decision. The company has warned that it may seek a judicial review.

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