PASSENGER satisfaction with railways in the region has fallen slightly, new figures show.

Of the three operators covering the Bradford district two witnessed a drop in satisfaction in the twice-a-year survey by watchdog Transport Focus.

In contrast Virgin Trains East Coast saw 91 per cent of passengers say they were satisfied with their journeys in autumn last year. This compares with 88 per cent in spring last year and 89 per cent in autumn 2016.

A total of 91 per cent of Grand Central passengers were also satisfied with their journeys, but this was a fall of five percentage points on six months earlier, and also a fall from autumn 2015, when ratings were 93 per cent.

Both operators were well above the national figure of 81 per cent, which was the same satisfaction rate recorded by Northern’s passengers.

The firm saw the proportion of passengers satisfied with its overall service fall from 84 per cent in autumn 2015 to 82 per cent last spring.

Virgin Trains passengers cited the frequency of trains on the route (92 per cent), cleanliness (91 per cent) and punctuality/reliability (89 per cent) among the main reasons for their satisfaction with the service provided.

Grand Central customers found personal security on board (93 per cent), sufficient room for all passengers to sit/stand (92 per cent) and cleanliness of the interiors (89 per cent) among their reasons for being happy with the service.

Passengers on Northern trains cited how a request to station staff was handled (90 per cent), information about train times/platforms (84 per cent), journey length (83 per cent) and punctuality/reliability (80 per cent).

James Vasey, chairman of Bradford Rail Users’ Group said: “The capacity is an issue for most people, but around longer journeys, facilities, the capacity to park and tickets that work are important issues.

“The operators in the district have low satisfaction rates when it come to how well they deal with delays or the toilet facilities - showing this is important to passengers.”

Tim Calow, chairman of Aire Valley Rail Users' Group added: "Capacity is an issue in Airedale, with the need for six-coach trains being identified nine years ago.

"Northern now have plans to move from four-coach to six-coach trains by the end of 2019, and it is vitally important this happens on time."

He added that Northern usually dealt with delays well and that conductors on trains kept passengers informed.

Richard McClean, of Grand Central, said: “The results show that we continuously listen to our customers, take on board what matters most to them – particularly focusing on consistently delivering the basics brilliantly – and translate their feedback into action.”