Loving Lumo: Customer Satisfaction Success

The Customer Insight Survey, carried out earlier this year, analysed views and experiences of those travelling on the Tyneside-based operator’s services along the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh, Newcastle and London.

Customers were asked to score their overall journey, as well as more specific aspects of their experience, such as how satisfied they were with experience of onboard staff (96%), the cleanliness of the train (93%) and timekeeping (96%) - all of which reflect scores typically well above industry averages.

The results from the survey commissioned by the open access operator, and led by The TAS Partnership transport consultancy working with market research specialists MRFGR, demonstrate the success of the UK’s greenest train operator which is proving increasingly popular with cost-conscious customers.

The question set was aligned to those asked in wider National Rail Passenger Surveys to allow benchmarking across the sector and are backed up by the results of previous industry wide surveying. 

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director at Lumo, said: “We’re proud of the results from this latest research which is testament to the hard work of all our colleagues at Lumo. 96 per cent reflects the positive experiences of thousands of our customers, and we’re proud to have met and exceeded their expectations as we connect major cities along the East Coast. Whilst we have commissioned this research as a Lumo specific survey, we’ve deliberately aligned to the question set used in wider rail industry services so that these impressive results can be benchmarked. This amplifies that this is an industry leading score.

“We set out to change the game with Lumo, with our unrivalled sustainability credentials, affordable ticket prices and customer-focused approach. So, it’s heartening that this has now been recognised by customers who travel with us.”

Lumo recently announced it is the first train company in Britain to eliminate plastic bottles from onboard water, juice and wine sales; all being replaced with sustainable alternatives. The company received an industry award for ‘Best in Class’ category for Minimising Delays at the Golden Whistle Awards earlier this year.

The results from the Customer Insight Survey follow strong findings from Lumo’s industry-first independent study into its saved emissions. Launched earlier this year, the Arup-led independent study found that Lumo saved 60.6 kilotons of CO2e in 2023 - the equivalent of taking 13,475 petrol-powered cars off the road for a year.