However, commenting on the results Passenger Focus did express concern with ATW's managing disruption results, which only 32% of passengers said they were satisfied with.

The Autumn 2009 National Passenger Survey (NPS) has revealed passenger satisfaction with ATW rail services is three points higher than the Great Britain score of 83%. Punctuality scores on all train operators running services in Wales also improved across the board, which is good news for passengers who rate punctuality as a top priority.

Passenger Focus's Autumn 2009 results is the second NPS in a row to show significant improvements to passenger satisfaction with station facilities in Wales. Satisfaction scores with ticket buying facilities jumped 15 points to 76%. Scores were also up for provision of information about train times/platforms (80%), attitudes and helpfulness of staff (74%), cleanliness (65%) personal security (63%), the availability of staff (57%) and facilities and services (44%).

Simon Pickering, Passenger Focus manager in Wales, said: "The gap between Wales and the rest of Great Britain is finally starting to close when it comes to passenger satisfaction with stations. ATW, the Welsh Assembly and Network Rail have listened to passengers, taken their advice and invested in areas that count to passengers. These results show that passengers are noticing and appreciating the work that is happening at stations across the country but clearly there is still room for improvement and investment should continue. Specifically, we would like to see real-time information at every station in Wales, which should help train companies improve passenger satisfaction with how well they handle disruption."

Also scoring highly was open access operator Wrexham and Shropshire with 98% of passengers satisfied with services run by the train company. Passengers using Virgin Train's services reported better satisfaction scores (up five points to 89%), CrossCountry received a 85% satisfaction rating and First Great Western 82%.

Stella Mair Thomas, Passenger Focus board member for Wales, commented: "There are lessons to be learned in this latest survey primarily that investment pays off. Let's see ongoing investment in station facilities and make sure that passengers across Great Britain - including Wales - receive a good level of service regardless of their location.

"The Welsh Assembly Government has highlighted plans for investment in new trains and refurbishment of some of the country's older stock. We urge the Government to now act on these plans in order to improve passenger satisfaction with trains running in Wales."

Key results for train operators that serve Wales include:

% satisfied or good

(+/- indicates if this is a significant improvement or decline compared to Autumn 08)

Arriva Trains Wales

Wrexham & Shropshire

First Great Western

Virgin Trains

CrossCountry

STATION FACILITIES

Overall satisfaction 86
98 82 89 (+5) 85

Ticket buying facilities 76 (+15)
70 74 79 82

Provision of information about train times/platforms 80 (+6)
91 79 (+3) 85 85

The upkeep/ repair of the station buildings/ platforms 60
79 65 69 72

Cleanliness 65 (+7)
73 71 74 77

Facilities and services at stations 44 (+7)
58 58 66 68 (+6)

The attitudes and helpfulness of station staff 74 (+8)
71 73 74 77

Connections with other forms of public transport 63
82 74 79 76

Facilities for car parking 63
63 53 56 (+13) 54 (-11)

Overall station environment 62
74 69 70 74

Your personal security whilst using station facilities 63 (+9)
80 67 73 73

The availability of staff 57 (+11)
60 59 63 68

How a request to station staff was handled 88
93 83 87 89

TRAIN FACILITIES

The frequency of the trains on that route 79

82 77 86 (+4) 81

Punctuality/ reliability 87 (+6)
98 80 (+4) 90 (+8) 85 (+5)

The length of time the journey was scheduled to take (speed) 88

86 83 93 (+11) 86

Connections with other train services 74
78 72 84 (+9) 76

The value for money for the price of your ticket 62
92 50 64 (+8) 56

Up keep and repair of the train 70
86 72 88 84

The provision of information during the journey 63
89 63 80 76

The helpfulness and attitude of staff on the train 75
98 66 82 77

Space for luggage 56
86 53 50 48

The toilet facilities 42
69 45 58 (+8) 53

Sufficient room for all passengers to sit/stand 71
95 68 77 (+9) 70(+11)

Comfort of the seating area 72
92 70 80 78

The ease of being able to get on and off 82
87 76 87 80

Your personal security whilst on board the train 79
91 77 85 84

The cleanliness of the inside 74
89 72 88 80

The cleanliness of the outside 70
86 70 84 80

The availability of staff 64
92 47 70 64

How well the train company dealt with delays 32
85 41 54 41

1. Full results of the Spring 2009 wave of the National Passenger Survey are available to download from Autumn 2009 NPS

- Over 26,000 passengers are surveyed for each wave of the National Passenger Survey. Two waves (spring and autumn) are conducted each year

- The National Passenger Survey provides a network-wide picture of passengers' satisfaction with rail travel. Passenger opinions of train services are collected twice a year from a representative sample of passenger journeys

- Passengers' overall satisfaction and satisfaction with 30 specific aspects of service can therefore be compared over time

- Fieldwork took place between September and November 2009

- Ratings for each individual Train Operating Company are available, as well as ratings for each sector, i.e. London and the South East, long distance and regional operators.