SENIOR staff at the region’s train operator say they have worked “extremely hard” to reach new levels of service upon reaching the first anniversary of taking on the franchise.

A new report shows Greater Anglia has made progress in its inaugural year of running the network and that customer satisfaction is improving.

Bosses say that – through working in closer partnership with the Network Rail service – performance has reached 92.2% for the moving annual average punctuality up to January 5, 2013 – a new high since the current structure was established in 2004.

Greater Anglia has also delivered the highest-ever four-week period of punctuality in its first year, when 95% punctuality was achieved for the period ended October 13, 2012.

Recent figures in the National Passenger Survey issued by Passenger Focus for autumn 2012 also showed that 83% of Greater Anglia’s passengers said they were satisfied with the service - an increase from 77% in the previous year’s survey and 73% in spring 2012.

Managing director Ruud Haket said the entire team at Greater Anglia had worked “extremely hard” to improve the operation and to “put the customer first”.

He said: “I am very pleased that we have made good progress in delivering record levels of punctuality for the East Anglia franchise, providing much better customer service and developing more positive partnerships with our stakeholders across the communities we serve.

“The encouraging improvement in our customer satisfaction rating is a positive endorsement of what we have achieved to date. We recognise, however, that there is much more to do.

“We are determined to raise service standards further, by continuing to improve and invest in the service we offer our passengers.”

Last night Neil Skinner, of the Manningtree Rail Users Association and the Essex Rail Users Federation, said he was surprised by the statistics and questioned exactly when the data had been collected.

He said: “The reaction here was one of surprise, I think. We have been asking whether anybody has actually responded to the surveys.

“It seems like it’s been done off-peak and the response we have had about the figures is that they are a load of rubbish.”