A recent report by Passenger Focus, the nation’s rail watchdog, shows that train passengers are becoming more satisfied by their train travel experience. A survey of 31,000 train users revealed that 83 per cent of travellers were happy with their treatment by Britain’s train companies, an increase of two per cent from the spring of last year.

Although the number of people admitting that they were happy with ticket prices was still below 50 per cent, the figure has increased from 40 per cent last spring to 48 per cent. The amount of people happy with the comfort of train carriages was also up. 68 per cent of those surveyed said that they were happy with the amount of space in which to stand or sit, compared with 66 per cent a year ago.

Train delays are still a problem, however, with only 35 per cent of those polled saying that they were satisfied with the way the country’s rail companies dealt with them. The figure shows no change from the same period in 2009.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said that satisfaction rates were improving as more of the country’s train services manage to improve their on-time record. He added, however, that there was still a significant gap between the good performers and the weaker performers.

Anna Walker, chairman of the Office of Rail Regulation, said that the satisfaction figures were encouraging, but that passengers were still voicing their concerns about traditional problems, such as the availability of staff and train delays. She added that satisfaction levels remain much lower than they should be.