True happiness? Queuing and something to complain about?

But of all the evergreen moaning subjects, the state of the railways has long been the holly and the ivy. Remember all those jokes about British Rail sandwiches?

And in the years after privatisation, talking about the delays, cancellations and bureaucracy of the new system reached new heights.

Yet figures released by the Strategic Rail Authority have revealed that although delays are getting worse (nearly one in three trains now arrives late), more people are going by train, and fewer are complaining about it.

People factor in a delay to their journeys now

Jasper Griegson

Complaints FELL by 7.4% in the three months in which punctuality got markedly worse.

Why should this be? Could it be that people are now just accepting that the trains are no good?

The UK's foremost complainer, author Jasper Griegson, certainly thinks so. People expect their trains to be late, he says.

"People 'factor in' a delay to their journeys now, I know I do myself. You think: 'I'll take a chance and go on the train. If it works out, then that's a bonus,'" he says.

Still, mustn't grumble

The SRA itself is not sure why the level of complaints has fallen, but a spokesman points to a number of possible reasons.

Among these are that long distance operators tend to be the ones with the highest levels of complaints, yet it was the commuter lines which performed worst.

Complaints (all lines, per 100,000 trips)

Oct-Dec 00 - 160 Jan-Mar 01 - 152 Apr-Jun 01 - 115 Jul-Sep 01 - 122 Oct-Dec 01 - 113 Source: SRA

Another possible reason, the SRA spokesman says, is that although most complaints are about punctuality, passengers also complain about other things - pricing, customer service, etc.

It could be that while delays had got worse, the train companies' other activities may have got better and given rise to fewer complaints.

Season tickets

There may also be several different things going on when people decide to complain. They may be seeking compensation, although since season ticket holders are automatically entitled to refunds if certain performance levels are not met, there is no further financial incentive on them to lodge a complaint.

Research by the Consumers' Association last year found only two-thirds of people with a railways grievance bothered to lodge it. The main reason for not doing so was they didn't feel it would change anything.

Would you like to sign, minister?

Most people thought the levels of compensation were poor, and only a third of complaints were dealt with successfully. So the major reason for people complaining appeared to be simply wanting to voice their objection.

A spokeswoman for the Consumers' Association says: "People want a say, they want an acknowledgement that they had to suffer a shoddy service, as much as anything else."

Jasper Griegson suspects that while many people had come to expect poor trains, others were becoming more inventive about complaining and finding ways of making their voice heard.

Going through the formal complaints procedures is unlikely to give them that satisfaction, he says.

Thus people have found ways to sidestep the procedures by sending e-mails, and ringing or sending messages while they are still on the train.

Last month passengers who were stuck for four hours on a train from Nottingham to London hit the headlines after they organised a petition to Transport Secretary Stephen Byers while they were waiting.

Rumours of the death of complaining, then, may well have been exaggerated.

Do you still mind if your train is late? Or are you prepared to accept it? Let us know your comments using the form below.

I think a lot of people have cut down complaining after the rcent train accidents, as it is realised how much the companies have to do to keep the service running full stop...
Mark Starmer, Leicester, UK

I think the public finally feels defeated. The train delays and cancellations have been going on for so long now it seems like it's the norm. Complaining certainly hasn't made any difference to the service, which has not improved much since the "go-slow" period when the track was being replaced after the last major accident.
Mike , UK

I've given up - it's always "someone else's problem", or invariably "I'm just the guard/ticket inspector/paid lackey, so what can I do?".
Steve Seymour-Jones, England

Complaining never helped or compensated for loss of earnings (or having to make up time to one's employer) nor for paying the extra child care costs when you were stuck on a train.
Sarah Moyle, UK

It isn't true that people don't complain abut the railways. They do it all the time in our office. They just don't bother to make official complaints, because they don't think it's worth the effort
C.M.Sheard, UK

You have hit the nail on the head. It also explains why reported crime is down. People are slowly beginning to realise that even if you complain nothing changes, so why bother to complain in the first place?
Shaun, Teignmouth UK

I've started to become surprised when the trains in Britain are on time, but I have to admit I've pretty much given up any expectation of improvement. We've become too accustomed to shoddy everything.
Carl, England

We seem to have resignedly, doggedly come to terms with the fact that trains, especially those in peak hours, are going to be incredibly late, if they show up at all. Complaints procedures don't work - all you get is some silly "apology" letter, if that.
Livi Ruffle, uk

The answer is simple. There is no point in complaining about delayed trains as it achieves nothing.
Bob Carr, UK

I travel on SW Trains. Any complaint just results in one of their stock phrases - no money, no straight apology - so there really is no point in wasting my time.
Helen Bray, UK

The complaints have reduced because of the one, simple reason that no action is being taken and most of us feel it is futile to complain so why waste time at all?
Anne, UK

Complaints have dropped because everyone now KNOWS the service is rubbish. If you get on a train and it's half an hour late, it's no surprise, you don't complain, you expect it.
Simon Soaper, England

The facts you relate are fictitious. The reason complaints against the railways are down is because everyone is taking so long to get home or to get to work there is no time left to complain. Either that, or they've run out of complaint forms again....
Richard Austin, England

The current situation on the trains will hopefully ease over the next year or so. Unfortunately, the people who have to take the brunt of this in the meantime are the passengers, and it's totally reasonable for people to feel frustrated and fed up as a result.
Mike Knell

Of course train complaints are down! It's dead easy! You make the pre-amble on the voicemail machine (used by all call centres) so long, that the caller gets fed up! After 10 or 20 mins having to listen to canned musak and some half-wit droning on about the virtues of Silverlink it becomes very hard to keep awake!
Graham Parry, UK

Given today's drivers' strike, a train, late or otherwise, would be an absolute bonus.
Rod Maxwell, Scotland

Maybe complaints are down because the media propaganda war against Railtrack has now stopped.
Ian Millar, Norway