Cross Country, East Midlands, First TransPennine Express, National Express East Coast and Virgin Trains should take the fall in long-distance passengers' satisfaction "as a red alert", said Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, the official rail passenger watchdog, which conducted the survey.

The number of passengers overall saying they were very or fairly satisfied with the train journey they had just taken rose 2 percentage points on the year before to 80 per cent in the survey conducted this spring. First Great Western, which has one of the worst punctuality records, continued to have the lowest satisfaction rating - 73 per cent.

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FirstGroup's First Great Western criticised for poor service

Thomson Financial: 07.07.08

LONDON - Controversial rail operator First Great Western (FGW) has come under renewed fire from passengers for poor service on its trains from London to Wales.

Travellers criticised the company, run by FirstGroup, for its connections with other public transport, its handling of delays, the standard of its train toilets and information provided during journeys, according to a national survey of more than 25,000 passengers by watchdog Passenger Focus.

FGW has previously faced a barrage of criticism for poor punctuality on its long-distance services and overcrowding on trains in the south west. The UK government has threatened to terminate its franchise unless it improves.

Other companies running trains in Wales, including Virgin CrossCountry -- part-owned by Stagecoach Group -- and Arriva Trains Wales (ATW), exceeded the national average passenger satisfaction score of 80 percent, achieving 85 percent and 83 percent respectively. First Great Western achieved a score of 79 percent.

Passenger Focus said all three companies continued to rate poorly on value for money.

Simon Pickering, passenger manager for Wales, said: 'All three operators must respond to this clear sign that passengers are not happy with the price of their train tickets.'

Passenger Focus said although ATW managed to improve performance in five aspects of its service, the survey highlighted shortcomings including facilities and services at stations and the company's handling of delays.