Complaints about Thames Trains soared by nearly 500 per cent, says a survey out today.

Thames had the highest percentage increase in complaints of all six train companies running services in the Western Region. The main criticisms were declining punctuality and overcrowding on peak services.

The report by the Rail Users' Consultative Committee covering April 1997 to March 1998 found: * Overall complaints up from 81 the previous year to 340 (309 per cent)

* Complaints about train performance and quality of service up from 29 to 168 (479 per cent)

* Complaints about lack of compensation up from 12 to 51 (325 per cent)

* Timetable complaints up from nine to 30 (233 per cent)

* Complaints about quality of service at stations up from 23 to 64 (143 per cent)

The report shows that trains arriving within ten minutes of scheduled times dropped from 93.7 per cent in 1996-7 to 87.

One major factor was the poor performance of rival company Great Western, whose trains held up those run by Thames.

Other reasons were unreliable signalling and power systems and increasing congestion between Didcot and Paddington.

Both train companies today hit back, saying the report only related to the year up to March 1998 - and services had improved since.

The report says overcrowding on peak services was made worse when short trains were run because of rolling stock shortages. The report also criticised the treatment passengers received at Oxford station.

"The situation was totally unsatisfactory, with frequent long queues at the ticket windows leading to frustrated passengers boarding their train without a ticket and incurring penalty fares."

Great Western, which also serves Oxfordshire, saw overall complaints rise from 754 to 2,228, a rise of 195 per cent.

The report says the punctuality of its services declined in almost every successful four-week period during the year, hitting a low point of only 78 per cent in March last year.

"Poor punctuality, combined all too frequently with sub-standard quality in other aspects of the service, generated an unprecedented level of correspondence and provoked many passengers into making angry and despairing telephone calls to our office," the report says.

Complaints against Virgin Trains which runs cross-country services through Oxfordshire, rose 183 per cent, from 132 to 373 with punctuality dropping from 86.7 per cent to 85.7. Delays of two or three hours on Virgin routes were not uncommon. Committee chairman Robert Wall said: "In the key areas of punctuality, reliability and quality of service the number of complaints from the public nationwide rose to nearly 20,000, which is an all-time record.

"It is easy to see that service levels have fallen well below expectations, and that far too many passengers have suffered delay and inconvenience.

"Overall, the performance has been far from satisfactory. There is an urgent need to improve reliability, punctuality and the quality of information, and the industry must learn to respond to passenger needs in a far more efficient manner than it is currently operating."

But Thames Trains spokesman Martin Walter said the figures were for 1997 to March 1998 and now a year on services have improved.

He said the Office of the Rail Regulators Report on customer complaints covering up to December 1998 shows Thames Trains as one of the best improved companies for handling customer complaints.

Mr Walter added this report showed there had been a 30 per cent reduction in customer complaints. He said: "We need to put this in perspective. The figures have come out of an annual report that is somewhat out of date. The latest figures show much improvement."

Cindy Russell, spokesman for Great Western Trains, agreed the report was out of date and said figures for this year showed complaints had gone down by a third.

She said: "Our performance has steadily improved since then period on period. Our performance is now the best it has been for two years."

Virgin Trains spokesman Marie Dooling also said things had improved considerably since the dates in the report.

She said customer complaints were now "very small" and punctuality was much improved.

Story date: Friday 16 April

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