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Service Quality

We’re committed to delivering a reliable, welcoming and comfortable experience every time you travel with us. Our Service Quality measures helps us monitor how well we’re performing across our trains and stations, focusing on the things that matter most to our customers - from well‑maintained facilities to great customer service.

Customer Satisfaction

To help us understand what we’re doing well and where we can do more, we regularly gather feedback through our Customer Satisfaction survey. This gives us direct insight into our customers’ experiences - from the ease of planning a journey to how people feel on board. Your feedback plays a key role in shaping improvements, helping us create journeys that feel more comfortable, more reliable and more enjoyable.

How we measure performance

Our performance is reported in four‑week periods, with 13 periods making up each reporting year. The year begins in April (Period 1), and we publish the latest results here as soon as they’re available - usually around two weeks after each period ends. Each period, we review how we’re performing across key Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction areas. This helps us understand where we’re delivering well and where we can continue to improve.

DfT Targets and KPIs

As part of our Service Agreement with the Department for Transport, we work towards a range of operational Targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These guide our focus and ensure we’re delivering the standards our customers and communities expect. In the ‘What We’re Measuring’ section below, you’ll find the Targets we have committed to - along with how we’re performing against them.

LNER's Period 10 Performance on Service Quality

LNER's performance was below the Department for Transport (DfT) target level for Station Cleanliness during Period 10 of Financial Year 2025-26 which ran from 07 December 2025 to 03 January 2026. These targets are included in the Services Agreement between LNER and DfT. Service Quality data is reported with a delay of 4-weeks (one rail period).

Performance Commentary

As we've seen a dip in our Period 10 station cleanliness scores, we want to explain what’s behind this and what we’re doing to put things right. The recent launch of our new cleaning contract brought a lot of change, including updated systems and brand new equipment. Some parts of this transition are still bedding in. Features like Proof of Presence and improved audit and reporting tools take a little time to settle before they can deliver their full benefits. We’ve also introduced our new East Coast Mainline Timetable, along with an increase in contracted cleaning hours and additional recruitment. This has been more challenging in some areas - particularly in the North and the Edinburgh/Newcastle region - where staffing and mobilisation took longer to stabilise. This impacted audit scores in those locations, while our Central and South stations continued to perform strongly throughout the rollout.

Action Plan

The good news is that the issues in the North have now been addressed, supported by a Performance Improvement Plan. Early Period 11 results show that staffing levels are now aligned to requirements, and cleanliness scores in the North are improving. It’s also worth noting that the Christmas period - combined with a two‑day station closure - traditionally puts extra pressure on cleaning teams due to short‑term sickness and reduced access. The changes we’ve put in place are designed to strengthen performance and give us better visibility going forward. With these improvements underway, we don’t have any significant concerns about the performance of cleaning at our stations.