A day after announcing they were scrapping cheaper fares on some peak-time routes in West Yorkshire, train company Northern Rail has been branded one of the "least trusted" in the country.

The company, which operates many services in this area, did not do well in a passenger satisfaction survey carried out by consumer watchdog Passenger Focus.

Northern Rail was found to be deficient in areas of punctuality and reliability, value for money, resolving problems and the helpfulness of staff both on trains and at stations.

These should be the core principals of any public transport company, and for Northern Rail to score so badly will mean there should be serious questions asked at the highest level of the organisation.

Of course, such surveys are not always representative of the whole travelling public, many of who might have no complaints at all about the service they receive. Indeed, local pressure groups have said that services in some parts of the district generally run quite well and they are not aware of a higher number of complaints.

It is certainly something for Northern Rail to get its teeth into though. There is always room for improvement and the passenger experience must be as pleasurable as possible, particularly if costs are on the increase.

Those who have a repeatedly bad time on trains will, if they are able, vote with their feet and choose other methods of transport. We are constantly told that the roads are choked with traffic and we must get more people on to public transport, but unless that public transport is clean, reliable and safe then that will be an uphill struggle.