Customers champion c2c

By James Renoux-Wood - Thu 20 June 2013, 12:13 pm

Barking and Dagenham residents benefit from the "most popular and punctual rail franchise in the country", according to the official national survey of passengers 2013.

Train operator c2c came top in categories for upkeep of trains, satisfaction with overall service and punctuality.

It was also named best commuter operator in London and the south east in 16 different categories, including helpfulness of staff and quality of stations. Residents of Barking can commute to the City of London in 15 minutes on c2c trains.

Managing director of c2c, Julian Drury said: "Passengers have scored c2c highly across the board and their opinion seems to be 'nobody does it better'."

National Express and the Department for Transport have signed an agreement to extend the c2c service for a further 16 months.

Drury said: "With the c2c franchise extended until September 2014, we are determined to maintain a high standard of service for our customers and to continue to improve in everything we do."

In other news, Margaret Hodge MP (above) paid a recent visit to Barking station to promote c2c’s Community Champion’s grant scheme alongside the National Express Foundation’s funding for community groups.

She said: "I’m always pleased to support the work that c2c do with local community groups. I would encourage as many people as possible to start applying and I’d be delighted to hear from people if they know someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the local community."

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