Bosses at privatised train firm Chiltern Railways could be in for huge cash windfalls - despite having late-running trains.

Chiltern directors could receive individual payouts of up to £500,000 under a planned takeover by construction firm John Laing.

But the news has prompted a fresh row over the profits being made by privatised Rail chiefs at the expense of passengers.

Chiltern Railways, which runs services from Oxfordshire to London, Buckinghamshire and the West Midlands, came sixth from bottom in punctuality league tables published yesterday.

Only 86.4 per cent of Chiltern trains - which call at Haddenham and Thame Parkway, Bicester North, Kings Sutton and Banbury - were on time last year. A spokesman for pressure group Save Our Railways said: "Private operators are getting the money but passengers are not getting their trains on time."

The John Laing deal, which is subject to approval by the Office of Fair Trading and rail regulators, involves increasing its shareholding of Chiltern's holding company, M40 Trains, from 26 per cent to 84 per cent.

M40 Trains managing director Adrian Shooter could receive a pre-tax payout of £824,000, with finance director Tony Allen getting £544,000 and chairman Sir Richard Morris £412,000.

But a spokesman for Chiltern Railways said: "The financial figures mentioned are all pre-tax figures. If the deal goes ahead, no-one will be receiving more than £500,000."

Story date: Friday 12 February

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