East Coast line turns in worst record in country

It is the only company currently being run by the public sector and last month was the only operator to fail to achieve a trains-on-time figure of 90 per cent.

Worryingly for East Coast, which will remain under state control until a new private sector operator is appointed next summer, its performance has worsened since the Government took charge in November last year.

Network Rail said that in 2009 the company achieved a punctuality record of 89.1 per cent but in 2010 that dropped to 87.7 per cent.

Business leaders described the figures as disappointing and called for investment in the line to match that of Virgin West Coast, which has enjoyed a multi-billion pound upgrade and achieved the biggest year-on-year punctuality improvement from 82.3 per cent in June 2009 to 90.4 per cent last month.

Nick Pontone, director of policy at the Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, said: "The line is vital to our business competitiveness and these figures are disappointing.

"The big improvement in punctuality on the West Coast line shows the benefits their multi-billion pound upgrade is now having for businesses served by the line.

"The East Coast needs similar investment over the coming years as well as a long-term train operator able to deliver improved services as soon as possible."

Investment in the line looks unlikely in the current economic climate – earlier this month the Yorkshire Post revealed Ministers had put off a decision over buying a new fleet of express trains.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond will decide in October whether to proceed with the 7.5bn contract for a fleet of Inter City trains for the line after saying it would be "irresponsible" to make a judgment before the autumn spending review.

The contract would cut journey times to the capital by 10 minutes, see new depots built in Leeds and Doncaster and possibly create a new factory in Sheffield.

Nationally, 93 per cent of trains ran on time in the four-week period from May 30 to June 26, compared with 93.1 per cent for the same period last year.

Best performance last month was on the London to Tilbury and Southend line, c2c, where punctuality was 97 per cent.

An East Coast spokesman blamed incidents "outside of their control" for the poor performance, citing infrastructure issues including "signalling, points and electrical supply problems".

He said: "We are working closely with Network Rail to deliver robust joint action plans to improve the punctuality of our services.

"During the period from 30 May to 26 June, East Coast's punctuality was affected by a number of incidents, with the greatest disruption caused by factors outside our control.

"Performance was also affected by a fatality between Durham and Darlington, an incident of cable theft near Newcastle, and one of our services becoming disabled near Barnet, North London.

"The breakdown of one East Coast service in Stoke Tunnel 5 May, also created a number of subsequent delays on the route, affecting overall punctuality for the period.

"Nevertheless, we recognise we can do better: our train performance is not where we want it to be and we are working hard to improve it."

The franchise, run by the Government company Directly Operated Railways, has attracted interest from a number of firms, including Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains company.

National Express won the contract in 2007, after it was surrendered by GNER, but could not keep up with the 1.3bn in premium payments it agreed to pay the Government.

A formal invitation for tenders is expected this autumn.