ScotRail said it was “good news” that four out of five customers are satisfied with its service. 

This is despite satisfaction with ScotRail dropping to a 15 year low according to the latest survey of passengers.

According to a report published by Transport Focus, satisfaction amongst users of the service up to autumn 2018 is down six percentage points on last year, to 79 per cent.

This is substantially below the franchise target of 88.5%, while only 39% of travellers are satisfied with how ScotRail deals with delays.

Meanwhile, just 51% feel they are getting value for money.

ScotRail, which is run by Dutch firm Abello

But Labour's Claire Baker MSP said the results were no surprise. 

She said: "This latest report will make grim reading for ScotRail bosses but will come as no surprise to passengers that have to endure their service day in, day out, to get to work.

“Despite regular promises to improve services across Scotland, we can see that satisfaction with ScotRail is crumbling.

“The statistics fail to take into account the plethora of problems passengers faced over Christmas and winter when there was a significant increase in cancellations and complaints.

“That only just over a third are satisfied with how ScotRail deal with delays highlights the frustration many face with the service. That is just one of the many reasons why passengers feel that they are paying too much for a service that is not good enough.

“Yet instead of taking action the Scottish Government have given ScotRail a free pass, allowing them to continue to deliver a service that fails to meet its own contract.

“The Scottish Government must get serious about taking action if ScotRail fail to get services back on track. Passengers deserve better.”

ScotRail said the survey was carried out “during a challenging spell of autumn weather”.

Despite this, it showed satisfaction among leisure travellers – ScotRail’s largest customer group – was at its highest level since 2016, at 91%.

The number of ScotRail customer journeys has increased by 23.5 million over the last decade, with £475 million currently being invested in brand new and upgraded trains.

Phil Campbell, head of customer operations, said: “While it’s good news that four out of five of our customers are satisfied with ScotRail, we know there is much more to do given the challenges we have faced in recent months.Everyone at ScotRail is working flat out to deliver the improved service our customers expect and deserve.”