RAIL firm First Great Western, which runs services linking Worcestershire and Herefordshire to London, has come bottom of a train passenger satisfaction league table.

A study by independent rail watchdog Passenger Focus showed that the network had a 74 per cent satisfaction rating - the lowest of any UK train firm.

The top-rated services were the Gatwick Express (94 per cent), Chiltern Railways (90 per cent) and c2c (89 per cent).

According to the survey of nearly 28,000 passengers, First Great Western's rating has dropped by three per cent since last year.

Anthony Smith, passenger focus chief executive, said: "Passenger Focus again calls for a fare freeze where performance has been poor - to penalise passengers with fare rises when train companies are not sticking to their side of the deal is simply not fair."

The announcement comes after your Worcester News revealed First Great Western planned to double the amount of compensation paid to passengers when services fail to run on time.

FGW chief operating officer Andrew Haines: "We've not given customers the service they deserve over the last 12 months, and we're sorry.

"We want to do the right thing by our customers. We are working with Network Rail to help us deliver a better service, but I recognise the promise of a better service tomorrow is little consolation for poor performance. I want this to send a clear message that we take our performance commitments seriously."

First Great Western customers are planning a "fare strike" including passengers on the Cotswold Line into London on Monday.