Slight Improvement In Rail Punctuality

12.45.00pm GMT Fri 17th Dec 2004

South West Trains recorded a 3% improvement in punctuality in the last quarter (July-September) but its record of 79.7% of peak hour trains arriving on time is below the average for companies operating London commuter routes (82.9%). Silverlink, which also operates from the borough, manages 87.1%. The one publicly owned operator (SET) which runs in Kent has a 83.4% punctuality rate.

MP Vincent Cable said that "the local service punctuality is still poor by almost any standard. What will happen next year is that the new timetables will allow the operator to add 4 to 5 minutes to a slow journey time; so that the company will appear more punctual even though services are slowing down. This will not help customers but it will make the companies look better".