BLINK and you’ll miss it. A customer survey handed out by First Great Western at the weekend devoted just one question out of 100 to ticket pricing.

Passengers are quizzed about their age, family background, employment status and even the appearance of train staff.

Views are also sought on the condition of the outside of the train, the floors and the soap dispensers.

But respondents have to wait until question 28, under the heading “opinion of rail journey in general”,before getting to the topic on most people’s minds.

The sub-question asks for a rating – from very satisfied to very dissatisfied – for “the value for money of the price of your ticket.”

The survey comes at a time when Swindon passengers are likely to be hit by another round of price increases.

Swindon is in the top 10 most expensive lines in the country, with a trip to London costing 72p per mile.

Company secretary Susie Kandolah, 42, from Purton, was travelling from London Paddington to Swindon.

She said: “They say it’s to improve their service but it sounds like they just want to make more money out of us.

“When you’ve paid over £50 with a Travelcard to get to London and back you’re not that bothered about what the windows look like.”

Lorna Stephens, 21, a student from Bristol, said: “It’s so expensive I find it cheaper to drive to London. I can’t see the point of the survey if there’s nothing about cost.”

Coun Kevin Small, chairman of Swindon Borough Council’s scrutiny committee, said: “It’s not a satisfaction survey, it’s more about the customer base and the kind of people they want to attract to the trains.

“They are finding out if they can appeal to different sections of the community.

“We have made it clear from the scrutiny work we have done one of the major issues which First Great Western has failed to make any recognition of is price.

“They see tickets as an easy way to make more money for themselves.

A spokeswoman for GWR said the survey was a customer satisfaction monitor which was aimed at giving the rail operator an idea of how it was doing ahead of a national survey carried out by Passenger Focus, an independent public body protecting the interests of passengers.

She said: “We only need to ask one question about fares – whether they’re good value for money or not.

“Obviously there are a number of other factors including whether the trains are on time and the frequency and capacity.

“We are currently investing £29m with the Department For Transport in increasing capacity on high-speed trains “On value for money we have worked with Swindon MPs and the council in terms of keeping fares down in Swindon over the last couple of fare increases, particularly on walk on fares.”