RAIL passengers in Scotland are more satisfied with their train service than most Britons, a survey has found.

The poll by consumer champion, Transport Focus, found that almost nine in ten ScotRail passengers are satisfied with their train service.

However, the survey was undertaken while the franchise was still being run by First Group, so does not reveal whether passengers are more or less satisfied since Abellio took over in April.

Serco, who are bidding for the new CalMac ferry contract, also took over the running of the Caledonian Sleeper service at the same time.

Overall, it showed that ScotRail passenger satisfaction in Spring 2015 was seven per cent higher than the average across Britain, with an 87 per cent satisfaction rate for ScotRail compared to 80 per cent for Britain as a whole.

Value for money scored 60 per cent among ScotRail users, compared to 45 per cent on average across Britain.

The only area with a significant decline in satisfaction was the cleanliness of the outside of the train, which scored 74 per cent - down by nine percentage points.

Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: "There were big changes for Scottish rail passengers this year with new operators for ScotRail and the sleeper service. We worked hard to make sure the new contracts included passengers' needs at the heart - and it's a positive step that Abellio has asked us to provide two extra passenger surveys each year.

"For the first time our passenger survey is built into the contract to monitor how ScotRail is working to improve overall passenger satisfaction and how well it deals with delays. Meanwhile Serco has agreed on a bespoke Caledonian Sleeper passenger survey, putting passengers at the heart of their service."