Passengers of a rail company which connects Bradford directly with London have again given it the thumbs-up for customer service.

Grand Central Railway, which operates services between Bradford Interchange and London Kings Cross, has again been named Britain’s highest-rated long-distance train operator for customer satisfaction.

Figures from Passenger Focus reveal that 95 per cent of Grand Central passengers were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with its services in the autumn 2013 National Rail Passenger Survey, a two per cent increase from the Spring of 2013.

Passengers cited fast journey times, a friendly attitude and helpfulness of Grand Central’s on-board staff, free access to Wi-Fi and the extra legroom available as standard on trains among the reasons for high levels of satisfaction.

Grand Central Railway chief executive Richard McClean said: “We’re delighted that customers are satisfied with Grand Central’s services and particularly thrilled with the impressive 98 per cent satisfaction on our West Riding route.

“Following previous passenger feedback, a fourth daily service between Bradford and London was added in December and we hope that this additional service on the West Riding route will help us to continue to develop these fantastic results.

“We are also pleased that our passengers recognise Grand Central’s excellent value for money, with customers 21 per cent more satisfied with Grand Central’s prices then other long-distance train operators.

“Grand Central makes good-value direct travel to London a possibility, particularly as we run much-needed services for communities without another direct link to London.”

Mr McClean praised the company’s staff and volunteer station ambassadors for helping to provide excellent customer service “We always aim to improve the Grand Central experience for passengers and we know there are specific areas where we can do better. In 2014 we’re investing in stations and in our fleet of trains to further improve our service, and we look forward to continuing to operate at the heart of the communities we serve,” he added.

Grand Central was compared positively to other long-distance train operators including CrossCountry, East Coast, East Midlands Trains, First TransPennine Express and Virgin Trains in terms of overall satisfaction.

The company is part of the Arriva group which provides transport services including buses, trains, commuter coaches and waterbuses, and acquired Grand Central in 2012.

Grand Central launched direct services between Bradford Interchange and London in May 2010. It introduced a fourth daily service on the route last December, leaving Bradford Interchange for King’s Cross at 7.52am, with a return journey at 4.03pm.