MORE North-East trains are arriving on time, but the latest industry figures reveal that at least one in ten journeys are still late.

Quarterly performance figures issued by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) showed that nationwide 83.1 per cent of trains ran on time in January-March, compared with 80.5 per cent in the same period last year.

But critics pointed out that the industry still had to reach the levels of punctuality and reliability prior to the Hatfield rail disaster, when 89.1 per cent of trains ran on time.

Britain's fastest rail company GNER, which runs services between Newcastle and London Kings Cross, scored an 83 per cent satisfaction rating.

GNER's score in the SRA's six-monthly National Passenger Survey is one per cent better than last time.

Punctuality improved to 76.9 per cent of trains on time between January and March, compared to 74.8 per cent last year, and has risen steadily since. GNER's punctuality throughout 2003/4 was 4.6 per cent better than 2002/3.

The report highlights a number of areas for improvement, all of which are recognised by GNER. These include the on-train environment, toilets and a need for bigger car parks to cope with rising passenger numbers.

The company has also pledged to:

* Double the number of on-train cleaners to 50 people.

* Appoint a dedicated team of engineers at Kings Cross to check and repair train toilets, in addition to daily overhauls at depots.

* Spend £250,000 on 70 train carriages. This will include new carpets, seat covers and seat bases, and trim repairs.

* Improve passenger information through revamped communications material and a redesigned website.

GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett said: "Not surprisingly, we did not score well on train upkeep, as most of our 15-year-old electric trains have yet to be transformed as part of our £30m Mallard rebuild programme, and some of the carriage interiors are looking worn. Steps are being taken to fix this.

"In the longer term, the introduction of a totally rebuilt fleet of trains by the end of next year will transform the journey experience for all our passengers, delivering class-leading standards of comfort and reliability."

One of the star performers, Sir Richard Branson's rail company, Virgin CrossCountry, enjoyed a 12 per cent improvement in punctuality this winter.

A spokesman for the company, which runs services on the East Coast Main Line, said: "Obviously, we are very pleased, but no one is feeling complacent. We've still got more to do."

Arriva Trains Northern also saw a marked improvement, with 85.9 per cent of its trains arriving on time in the first three months of the year.

Apart from the small Isle of Wight Island Line, the best-performing company in January-March was Merseyrail, which ran 94.5 per cent of its trains on time.

The SRA also said provisional figures suggested that more than £5bn was invested in Britain's railways in 2003-04 - an increase of 24 per cent on the previous year.