FIRST Great Western, as astounded Swindon Advertiser readers will be aware, has been named Rail Business of the Year at an awards ceremony in London.

The news comes mere weeks after a Which? survey of customer satisfaction revealed the company to be in its accustomed zone, bumping along near the bottom.

What are we to make, therefore, of First Great Western’s sudden elevation?

Perhaps the name of the ceremony offers a clue to the conundrum. The event at the Hilton in Park Lane was the Rail Business Awards.

In other words, it largely involved members of the rail industry giving accolades to other members of the railway industry.

Readers with a sceptical nature might speculate as to just how meaningful any such awards ceremony can be, especially when its top honour goes to a firm found by Which? to have a 47 per cent customer satisfaction score.

Indeed, some readers might say such award schemes are about as meaningful as a bonny baby contest organised by and for people whose offspring’s looks would stop clocks.

Nevertheless, it would be churlish not to offer First Great Western at least some congratulation, if only for the sake of the hard-pressed frontline staff who deal daily with the fallout of decisions made at boardroom level.

All we ask of the company’s bosses is that they consider how much more satisfying it would be to receive a business of the year award based entirely on the urging of delighted customers.