Rail passengers in the South East are the least satisfied in the country, according to a survey by consumer group Which?

Overcrowding, poor value for money and dirty trains were among the issues raised by the poll of almost 7,000 travellers.

Chiltern Railways was ranked 7th out of the 22 different train companies nationally, with Cross Country placed 11th and Great Western Railway positioned 17th.

Stephen Joseph, Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport said he was not surprised that almost three quarters of commuters said the price of their rail ticket was too high.

He said: "Even with this year’s fares rise lower than in previous years it still means fares have gone up 25 per cent since 2010. 

"It’s not just that fares are too expensive but the whole ticketing system is too complex and fails to reflect modern working patterns.

"We need to see a national strategy to deliver flexible ticketing and fares which will allow commuters to travel across all operators with ease and offer the flexibility over 8 million part-time workers really need.

"The survey clearly shows how unhappy commuters are with paying a high price for their ticket while getting what is sometimes a poor service.

"It is high time the government and train operators sorted out this mess."

Oxfordshire-based public transport commentator Hugh Jaeger said he thought commuters had been denied their public transport wishes for years.

He said that while the cost of tickets was a major issue for train users, they also complained about levels of service. 

He said: "Most of all they want trains with enough carriages to give everyone a seat, and more reliability and punctuality. 

"They are far less concerned about stations, but they want more stations to have toilets, and users of unstaffed stations want staff to be reintroduced.

"These old demands have been joined by new ones. Passengers increasingly expect good, free WiFi not as a luxury, but something as basic as a good mobile ’phone signal."