RAIL passengers have seen train punctuality improve by more than 13 per cent between Oxford and London.

New figures show First Great Western (FGW) has made the biggest improvements in rail punctuality in Britain over the last year.

The train operator saw 90.5 per cent of its trains running on time in 2008/09 compared with just 83.1 per cent in 2007/08, according to new statistics from Network Rail.

Over the same period, FGW train punctuality between Oxford and London Paddington soared from 71.31 per cent to 85.19 per cent.

But the operator is still just below the average of 90.6 per cent punctuality for British rail companies, and commuters are demanding more from the firm.

First Great Western spokesman Ellie Banks said: “We are very proud to hear what Network Rail has been saying about us.

“Our improved service is down to everyone in the business working together and we would like to send out a big well done to all our colleagues.

“However we must not get carried away. There is still a lot more for us to do to provide the service we want to our customers.”

Zahra Akkerhuys, spokesman for Ox Rail Action said: “The fact we have seen an improvement on the abysmal service that we were experiencing is good.

“FGW have worked hard to address the problems but it’s still far from perfect.”

Mrs Akkerhuys, 36, from Grandpont, pays £383 for a month travel pass in order to commute to her job as a PR consultant in London four days a week.

She added: “My train returning from Paddington is regularly 10- 15 minutes late. We keep meeting with FGW to keep up the pressure and to make it really clear we still demand a good service and value for money.

“Currently one in 10 trains still isn’t running to time — 85 per cent is better, but isn’t quite a gold star.”

Simon Eaton, 47, from Yarnton, near Kidlington, who has an annual ticket for the route, said: “Punctuality has improved, but other elements of the service have deteriorated – such as the removal of the buffet service on Oxford to London trains and faulty high speed services being substituted by small Turbo trains with just two carriages on occasion.”

Ox Rail Action is set to meet with the FGW’s new managing director Mark Hopwood in London Paddington next week.

Chiltern Railways, which runs services from Bicester to London Marylebone, was the second most punctual train operator in Britain – with 95.2 per cent of services running on time over the last year.

Chiltern’s operations director Keith Doughty said: “There is no room for complacency.”

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk