The evaluation of the service quality performed by the rail passenger transport carriers on the Prague – Ostrava region route: primary marketing research

Abstract

The article is focused on the presentation of the outcomes from the primary marketing research concerning the service quality performed by the rail passenger transport carriers on the Prague – Ostrava region route, which is main long distance rail line with in market competition in the Czech Republic. Historically it was operated by the Czech national carrier, former incumbent České dráhy (Czech Railways Company). Since 2011 it is opened to the competition of two competitors as RegioJet entered the market, soon afterwards in 2012 third competitor joined the passenger railway market on this route – LEO Express. The research aims to analyze the quality as perceived by the passengers comparing the service experience during the journey with all three aforementioned carriers. The primary marketing research was carried out in the form of structured personal questioning, where the analyzed criterions were ticket prices, carriage convenience, customer service and the train staff behavior during the journey, tidiness of carriage interiors, frequency of offered connections and the refreshment offer during the journey. The evaluation and discussion of the outcomes are included in the article.