RAIL passengers have praised First Great Western, claiming it has made a "significant improvement" over the past year.

The firm's customers revealed their opinions through the National Passenger Survey (NPS) carried out by independent rail watchdog Passenger Focus in February, with 83 percent of them saying they were happy with the company's service.

The figures show the best results since comparable records began in 2003, and a two percent increase in satisfaction compared to the same period last year.

Seven key areas were highlighted as improved, including attitude and helpfulness of staff; punctuality and reliability; connections with other train services; value for money; speed of journey; frequency of services and dealing with delays.

Mark Hopwood, First Great Western managing director, said: "These results are testament to the hard work everyone at First Great Western has put in over the last year to deliver for our customers.

"We'll keep looking at ways we can improve our customers' journeys with us even more."