Rail bosses are splurging £12million to find out what passengers think of them.
And despite the answer being obvious to nearly everybody, the project will take six years.
It has been ordered by Network Rail – which has been blamed for delays because of the way it runs the railway infrastructure.
The decision to quiz people on their train views was blasted by campaign group the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
Spokesman Duncan Simpson said: “Splashing cash on surveys we can guess the answers to is a dreadful use of taxpayer money.
“Network Rail should focus on getting trains running on time.”
As well as online surveys, the job will involve “pedestrian counting”, and “day-to-day reputation management”.
The announcement comes three months after the rail regulator criticised Network Rail’s record.
The Office of Rail and Road said Network Rail’s contribution to delays was 58 per cent – a small improvement on last year – but it performed worse in the north and midlands.
It comes a year after customer satisfaction sunk to a 10-year low following the disastrous introduction of new timetables that saw thousands of trains cancelled.
The most recent survey by the independent passenger watchdog [released in Jan 2020] shows that satisfaction with people’s last train journeys is at 82%, up from 79% the previous year, which was the first survey carried out following the May 2018 timetable change.
The regulator blamed the 2018 fiasco on mistakes by Network Rail, train operators and the Government.
Network Rail were blasted for delays to electrification and late changes to the Thameslink programme.
Network Rail did not comment.
