Less than half of surveyed passengers of the main train operator serving south west Hertfordshire are satisfied with its service, it has emerged today.

London Midland trains was ranked 14th of the 19 rail operators in a survey carried out by consumer magazine Which?

Only 45 per cent of London Midland passengers surveyed said they were satisfied with its service.

Which? questioned 7,500 passengers for its survey, in which more than half of the 19 operators in the country received a satisfaction score of less than 50%.

Virgin Trains was given the highest ratings with a customer score of 67%.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd, said: "With 1.5 billion train journeys made every year and eight of the 17 UK rail franchises up for grabs in the next two years, customer service should be top of the agenda for every train operating company.

"It is good to see some are performing well on service, but customers clearly feel others need to do better.

"Passengers tell us they are fed up with trains that are delayed, overcrowded and dirty.

"This is especially disappointing as many commuters can’t shop around or change the company they travel with.

"Train companies need to play fair with their customers, especially when they are being asked to pay more for their journeys."