SALISBURY'S commuters have one of the easiest journeys in the south of England, according to a report by a regional committee that represents passengers.

The Rail Passengers Committee Southern England survey, carried out by commuters, shows Salisbury is the second-best station for travelling to London.

Fifty season ticket-holders from 40 stations across the south volunteered to report daily for ten weeks on the punctuality, cleanliness, overcrowding and availability of information on trains and at stations.

The Salisbury-London line scored highly for punctuality, with 81 per cent of trains arriving within five mintues of the scheduled time - the second best result out of the stations included in the survey.

By comparison, only 57 per cent of trains on the Southampton line arrived on schedule.

Departures from Salisbury were within five minutes of the scheduled time for 88 per cent of trains.

The Salisbury line also has the largest number of modern trains - only one per cent are of the old-fashioned slam-door type.

Gerry Quirke, of Tisbury Rail Users Group, said: "Train services through Salisbury have improved a lot.

"There are many new trains running, which are much more reliable.

"There are also more trains, which leads to a better service."

Craig Josey, group station manager in Salisbury, said: "We're delighted that the station has been rated so highly. Salisbury is a busy commuter station but we manage to keep the local, friendly feel.

"All our staff have been working hard to keep the station looking good."

The report covers train services from stations in Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Only Tonbridge station, in Kent, received a better overall score.