Customer Service
The Company has been able to maintain a high level of customer service through constant focus on service quality improvement. Improving passenger experience is a top priority for the Company.
Customer Service Levels
Passenger satisfaction is monitored regularly through an online survey on the website and by
Personal data of FPC clients is processed in strict accordance with the rules of Federal Law
According to the 2022 Passenger Service Quality Assessment, the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) was 87.6 on a one hundred point scale, which corresponds to the target for 2022 calculated at the end of 2021, adjusted for realised external factors.
Final CSICustomer satisfaction index. and NPSNet promoter score. figures in 2022
Passenger loyalty index by the end of 2022
Survey method
Overall passenger satisfaction with FPC services is based on passenger ratings of the following:
- Ticketing process (online, in a mobile app or ticket offices)
- Fare pricing
- Customer service on-board (travel comfort, technical condition and cleanliness of carriages, attendants’ performance, quality of bed linen and travel kit)
- Catering (prepaid meals, dining carriage services and merchandise)
- Loyalty programme
In 2022, 240.542 passengers responded to the survey asking them to rate the FPC services.
In order to develop service and improve the competitiveness of the Company, as well as to determine the level of passenger loyalty to the Company and willingness to recommend its services, the NPS1 index is regularly monitored.
In 2022, the NPS index is recorded at 43. This index decreased by 7 points compared to 2021. Passengers are loyal to the Company, as the share of promoters is 43 p.p. larger than that of detractors.
Customer Service Innovations
Providing passengers with linen and bedding made from environmentally friendly materials
The Company and the rest of the globe place a high focus on environmental safety.
Rethinking marketing tactics and emphasising sustainability are becoming more important due to rising public interest in how products are made and what happens to them after they are used green energy.
FPC participates in initiatives to protect the environment.
Deluxe carriages of the Saratov – Moscow branded train No. 9/10 were furnished with bedding and linens made of eco-friendly materials to keep up with current co-friendly trends. The project is launched on 15 December 2022.
The bedding, curtains and window-table cloth are made from 100% organic cotton grown without synthetic pesticides and GMOs according to the principles of organic farming.
The pillows and blankets are made from organic cotton, organic nettle and hemp shover. Nettle fabric is an eco-friendly material with antistatic, hygroscopic, hypoallergenic and antibacterial properties. Hemp shover has water-repellent and warming properties.
Passengers gave the quality of the bed linen and bedding produced from eco-friendly materials a rating of four out of five. Seventy per cent of passengers are in favour of using this type of bedding and linen on trains.
Organising the sale of food and non-food items with the use of an e-ticket checkout device
FPC started a pilot project in January 2022 to use an e-ticket checkout device to accept cash and non-cash payments.
The main objectives of this project:
- Ensuring that payments (cash and non-cash) for goods and services sold en route can be made in each train carriage using e-ticket checkout devices
- Generating and sending electronic receipts to an e-mail address or as an SMS to the passenger’s mobile phone number
- Using existing equipment without the cost of additional cash registers and cash register tape.
Since 20 January 2023, the pilot project for accepting cash and non-cash payments via e-ticket checkout devices has been running in all branches of FPC, in 38 long-distance trains (all trains of the St. Petersburg – Moscow carriage site of the North-West branch, one train in each structural subdivision of the North-West branch and one train in nine other branches).
Since the launch, more than 43,000 items worth RUB 3.1 million have been sold on trains participating in the pilot project using e-ticket checkout devices.
The rollout of the system for accepting cash and non-cash payments using e-ticket checkout devices in all FPC trains is scheduled for 2023.
Developing the Passenger Identification and Service System
FPC’s trains have the Passenger Identification and Service System in place. The status of travel and carriage documents as well as relevant information regarding the passenger’s journey are updated online for train crew members.
Improvements to the Passenger Identification and Service System software were made in 2022 to improve working conditions and raise awareness of passenger services among train crews.
The passenger train manager and attendants can now access information on additional services (bedding, information on guaranteed and additional meals) included in the price of the travel document (ticket), on documents issued for the carriage of pets, on the carriage of baggage in baggage compartments, on the travel of a disabled passenger, on the elite status of passengers — Bonus members, as well as additional information about the gender of the compartment, the sales channel for the travel document (ticket) and the method of payment.
The development of this system is ongoing.
Enhancing Meal Quality
Food delivery to a train
The food delivery service to the train car was launched in December 2019.
The service is now provided both at departure and transit stations. Food delivery can be ordered when purchasing an e-ticket on the Parent Company’s website or in the mobile app, as well as in through the Ordering Services to Tickets section (if a ticket is already booked), including after boarding a train (via a QR code link placed on information stickers in carriages).
At present, the FPC service includes 88 caterers covering 60
Catering concept
On 15 April 2021, the Federal Passenger Company launched the Concept of Catering in Long-Distance Trains (hereinafter – the Concept). It covered 14 trains in 2022.
The Concept-aligned revised service standards are being offered in 30 bistro carriages on 19 trains.
The following trains succeeded in achieving the Concept’s primary goal of making food in the bistro carriages accessible, affordable and safe:
- No. 1/2 Volgograd – Moscow
- No. 103/104 Adler – Moscow
- No. 25/26 Voronezh – Moscow
- No. 31/32 Tambov – Moscow
- No. 23/24 Moscow – Kazan
- No. 737/738 Moscow – Bryansk
- No. 739/740 Moscow – Bryansk
- No. 741/742 Moscow – Bryansk
- No. 71/72 Belgorod – Moscow
- No. 59/60 Nizhny Novgorod – St. Petersburg
- No. 35/36 St. Petersburg – Adler
- No. 21/22 St. Petersburg – Murmansk
- No. 739/740 Moscow – Voronezh
- No. 737/738 Moscow – Voronezh
- No. 9/10 Samara – Moscow
- No. 25/26 Izhevsk – Moscow
- No. 49/50 Samara – Moscow
- No. 51/52 Penza – Moscow
- No. 65/66 Togliatti – Moscow
FPC plans to roll out the Concept to another 26 trains in 2023. To this end, procurement of professional heating equipment is currently underway.
Additionally, one of the focuses of the Concept is the implementation of a new catering option for passengers: they can order meals on the train for a reasonable price, and the train’s design includes a modernised staff carriage with specialised equipment for storing and heating ready-to-eat meals, as well as a washing machine and a dishwasher. Services are provided through FPC attendants, who were trained in the basics of service, catering and carriage set-up.
The pilot project was launched in December 2022 in the operating domain of FPC Ural Branch.
Currently you can order meals through the attendant on Ekaterinburg – Surgut train No. 49/50, as well as on Surgut – Moscow train No. 59/60.
More than 4.000 food rations have been sold since the pilot project’s beginning.
Food sales are analysed daily, and the results indicate a rising tendency. This demonstrates the passengers’ interest in the service.
Six more remodelled carriages are anticipated to be delivered in a subsequent batch in 2023, allowing the project to grow further on other routes.
Improving Working Conditions for Train Crews
New uniforms
A new collection of uniforms for train crews and ticket office staff was created in 2022, utilising high-quality, long-wearing materials. Coats, undercoats, dresses, waistcoats, women’s shoes, scarves and gloves were all added to the list of uniform items.
Deliveries of the new line of uniforms commenced in Q4 2022. The personnel of the high-speed portion of the Moscow –Yaroslavl carriage site, the Samara Passenger Carriage Depot, the Vladivostok Passenger Carriage Depot and the North Caucasus Railway Agency are the primary recipients of the 2.100 sets of the new uniforms.
St. Petersburg – Moskovskiy Carriage Site, Kaliningrad Passenger Carriage Depot, Yaroslavl Carriage Site, Petrozavodsk Carriage Site, Gorky – Moskovskiy Passenger Carriage Depot, Voronezh Carriage Site, Ekaterinburg Carriage Site, Tomsk Carriage Site, Severobaikalsk Carriage Site, North-Western and Moscow Railway Agencies are all scheduled to receive 5,800 sets of new uniforms in 2023.
Providing employees with accessories
Since 2022, the Company has been providing employees with branded accessories as additional elements of uniform.
The list of accessories includes:
- Carry-on bag – made from modern, durable materials, attachable to a suitcase and designed to hold the personal belongings of train crew members
- Travel case – capacious, with sturdy wheels for easy transport (carrying), designed for storing personal belongings of employees
- Garment cover – for storing and transporting uniforms and special clothing, protecting them from moisture and dirt
- Documents wallet – made from durable material, with several handy compartments for storing the passenger train manager’s documents
- Tool bag – designed for storing and transporting tools for the train’s electricians while the train is en route
Over 2,900 third- and fourth-class attendants who work on Lastochka and Strizh trains was given these accessories in 2022, including 700 attendants in the Moscow branch, 1,200 — in the North-Western branch, 200 — in the North Caucasus branch, 600 — in the Kuibyshev branch, and 28 — in the Urals branch. In every branch of the Company, accessories were also distributed to all train managers (more than 1,500 people).
The remaining forth-class attendants working on company trains (3,200 employees), along with 1,500 train electricians, will receive accessories by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Improving sanitary and living conditions for train crews
Eight major passenger carriage attendant pools, including those in St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Ulyanovsk, Voronezh, Volgograd and Kirov, had renovations in 2022.
In total, maintenance and equipment purchases totalling more than RUB 84.6 million were made in 2022 in 49 passenger carriage attendant pools, of which more than RUB 53 million were utilised to buy furniture and household appliances.
More than RUB 144 million were budgeted for the improvement of living and sanitary conditions in 57 passenger carriage attendant pools in 2023.
Five Gazelle NEXT minibuses for train crews in Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Penza and Ulyanovsk were purchased in 2022 in order to improve the transport availability of passenger carriage attendant pools.
To improve the working conditions of train crews en route, they can have three meals a day in dining cars at the employer’s expense. These meals are provided on nine passenger trains (65 series of carriages) that are en route for long periods of time.
For the staff members who handle the passenger carriages of autonomous coupling type, more than 800 chairs were purchased to place in the working areas.
