Thames Trains was today (FRI) among Rail operators told to improve performance in a national report revealing a severe reduction in punctuality.

Following the report by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said companies would need to take urgent steps to improve performance levels.

Thames Trains, which operates services throughout the Thames Valley and a half-hourly service from Paddington to Oxford, was one of the companies which performed least punctually.

The number of trains running on time in the year ending June 1998 was 85.7 per cent, compared to 93.7 per cent the previous year.

The reduction in punctuality in the space of one year was so marked that the operator no longer met Passenger's Charter standards agreed with OPRAF and means that season-ticket holders are entitled to apply for a discount.

Mr Prescott said: "It is unacceptable that, once again, the overall performance of the passenger train operators have fallen. Passengers deserve better from the passenger train companies.

"Train operators will need to take urgent action with the franchising director, the rail regulator and Railtrack to make sure that performance improves to a level passengers have every right to expect." A spokesman for Thames Trains said: "We are addressing the punctuality statistics in three ways. We are working with Railtrack, working with other rail companies who operate on our lines and working with the train manufacturers to alleviate the problem we have with engine failures."

"Our statistics have improved since the end of June and we look forward to further improvements over the coming months."

Great Western, which operates high-speed train services between London Paddington, south Wales, the Cotswolds and the West Country, also came under criticism for a drop in punctuality, as did

Its new direct service between Bristol and Oxford calls at Bath, Chippenham, Swindon and Didcot.

In the year ending June 1997, 89.6per cent of Great Western Trains arrived on time but by June this year, the figure was reduced to 83.5per cent. Virgin's CrossCountry service, which operates between London and Birmingham and London and Manchester, via Oxford., also suffered reduced punctuality.

In the year ending June 1997, 87.3 per cent of trains were on time, but this figure fell to 84.3 per cent the following year.

John O'Brien, director of franchising for OPRAF, said: "These results continue to paint a very unsatisfactory picture of performance as a whole.

"Year-on-year, punctuality continues to decline. Underlying these figures is the fact that overall, Railtrack's performance has been showing some improvement but this has not yet been matched by all train operators."

Figures regarding train operators' reliability remained virtually stable and despite the reduction in punctuality, the number of passenger journeys is continuing to grow at a rate of three per cent.

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