THE rail company running trains across Essex has been ranked second worst nationally by a passenger survey.

Greater Anglia got just 42 per cent in a customer satisfaction survey carried out by consumer magazine Which?.

The train operator also came last in a commuter survey where it scored 36 per cent, according to the results published on Monday, February 18.

Virgin Trains was the overall winner with a score of 67 per cent, while propping up the table was First Capital Connect with 40 per cent. The best commuter service was London Overground with a 66 per cent satisfaction rating.

Scores are based on satisfaction and how likely passengers were to recommend a train company.

A Greater Anglia spokesman said: “The sample size in the Which? survey is extremely small in comparison with the recent National Passenger Survey which recorded an excellent improvement in customer satisfaction for Greater Anglia to 83 per cent in the autumn 2012 survey, compared to 73 per cent in the spring."

The survey, conducted in November 2012, asked more than 7,500 people about their journey’s in the previous 12 months. On average each respondent had travelled 37 times by train, and the results were weighted according to passenger numbers for each operator.