The report also says passenger satisfaction with punctuality and reliability has risen 2% to 83%, a level only achieved once before, in autumn 2009.

BBC: UK

Meanwhile, Office of Rail Regulation chairman Anna Walker said that although it was "positive" to see "good levels of passenger satisfaction", it was clear that "passengers continue to voice familiar concerns".

BBC: Rail passengers 'more satisfied'

"When the government comes to looking at who runs franchises in the future, they'll be looking at the numbers of official complaints and passenger satisfaction survey results, rather than how many people have contacted London Midland via Twitter, " he added.

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Heathrow achieved an all-time record passenger satisfaction score in a survey produced by the Airports Council International for the third quarter, but the percentage of people passing through central security within the prescribed time was below last year's level at 92.8% in 2012.

BBC: An aeroplane at Heathrow Airport

The train frequently finished at the bottom of passenger satisfaction surveys by the nonprofit Straphangers Campaign, and is among the worst performers in the entire subway system on a chief measure of reliability: how many miles the cars can travel, on average, between breakdowns.

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Passenger Focus found a large difference in levels of overall customer satisfaction depending on the area in which people travel.

BBC: Rail fare 'dissatisfaction' grows, survey suggests

Passenger Focus singled out South West Trains and Chiltern for problems with punctuality, saying there had been a decline in satisfaction from 2010, but praised London Overground and Merseyrail for improvements.

BBC: Rail fare 'dissatisfaction' grows, survey suggests