However, some companies asked passengers about the appearance of their staff and the quality of food. Customers in the Which? survey showed little interest in these issues.A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions accepted the current surveys had "limitations", especially because they made it difficult to make national comparisons.He added: "We are going to introduce a new passenger survey to find out what passengers think about rail services and to help measure performance across the network."The results would be used alongside punctuality and reliability figures to judge train companies under new rules being brought in by the Government in response to a decline in train performance.The Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (Opraf) has put out tenders for research to find out which areas passengers want covered. "You feel miserable, you feel absolutely wretched with viral illnesses, like flu, but the right place is to go to bed and taken plenty of fluids and something like aspirin and paracetamol."Llandough Hospital, near Cardiff, was among the latest round of hospitals to cancel non-urgent surgery to provide extra beds for patients with flu and chest infections. The James Paget hospital in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, has also had to use a refrigerated lorry as a temporary morgue.As the bug spread south, Ian Bogle, chairman of the British Medical Association, appealed to the public not to use emergency services for uncomplicated illnesses.

The hospital, which has the only mortuary in the region, received 258 bodies between 21 December and 5 January, compared with 120 in the same period last year. But flu usually goes in cycles, peaking after five weeks, meaning the next week will see many more cases.Like the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary in Derby has had to begin storing bodies in a refrigerated lorry and two mobile fridges after the flu added to soaring death rates. In the 1989 epidemic, the rate peaked at 580 cases per 100,000 people. Doctors said all intensive-care beds were full, as casualty units and ambulance services braced themselves for more admissions.

Around 97,000 people in England and Wales have flu, compared with 53,000 in Christmas week, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), which said the rate of infection had risen from 102 cases per 100,000 to 185 cases between Christmas and New Year, with England's central region worst hit. Douglas Fleming, of the RCGP flu monitoring unit, said the pattern was normal for winter. THE NUMBER of people with flu rose by 83 per cent last week, piling pressure on hospitals and causing misery to thousands. Led by the Labour MP AndrewBennett, about 50 of them defied Mr van Hoogstraten's obstructions on the public foot-path at his Framfield property by walking around them. There were almost as many media representatives in attendance, plus a handful of police officers. Channel 4 will defend robustly any proceedings issued by the council in court.". Deputy Chief Constable Tom Williamson said: "We received a number of reports into the activities of October Films which have caused us a great deal of concern."This would suggest that they ... are not just filming what is occurring but interfering in the care of young people."Channel 4 has accused Nottingham council of a "crude attempt to stop us showing an important film".It said: "The public have the right to see this series. The council also claimed that a 15-year-old girl had been told she would be "working" for the film crew for a year, and that they induced her to pose as a prostitute."If October Films will not be persuaded through dialogue that they are interfering with and undermining our efforts to care for and bring up vulnerable children, then we have no choice but to seek the support of the court," said Graham Chapman, the leader of Nottingham City Council, yesterday.The action was backed by Nottinghamshire Police.