The proportion of people satisfied with their rail journey in Britain has risen for the first time since 2012, a survey of passengers has said.
The bi-annual National Rail Passenger Survey, which asks more than 28,000 people, recorded a 2% year-on-year rise in overall satisfaction to 83%.
The research was carried out between 1 September and 12 November 2015.
Watchdog Transport Focus said railway improvements were "very welcome" but performance was "still patchy".
More investment
Rail Minister Claire Perry said overall satisfaction - which is at its highest level since autumn 2012 (85%) - was "a welcome sign that our record investment is starting to deliver results".
"There is clearly much more to be done, which is why we are continuing to invest to reduce crowding, cut journey times, and improve the passenger experience," she said.
Other findings from the survey include:
- Operators with the three lowest ratings all covered south-east England. Thameslink had the lowest proportion of satisfied passengers at 73%, followed by Southeastern (75%) and Southern (78%)
- All three operators have been affected by long-running improvement work at London Bridge station, which has caused disruption
- Operators with the highest proportion of satisfied customers were First Hull Trains (97%) and Heathrow Express (95%)
- The proportion of people satisfied that their ticket represented value for money was 48%
- Passengers using the non-stop Gatwick Express between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport were least likely to be satisfied with their fare (37%)
- The figure for those happy with the punctuality and reliability of their train increased edged up by one percentage point to 78%
- Nationally, the percentage of passengers satisfied with all train and station facilities improved for 20 service areas and declined for none.
Jacqueline Starr, managing director of customer experience at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said there was "more to do to keep improving".
"Our railway is benefiting from one of the biggest investment programmes in its history - major improvement work that is producing better stations, better trains and better journeys," she said.
Source: bbc.co.uk/news