TRAIN punctuality is getting worse and the number of complaints by passengers is soaring, according to official figures published yesterday.

The industry faced "a massive challenge" to improve performance, said the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), which produced the statistics.

But GNER chiefs were celebrating after the company was named as Britain's best long-distance train operator.

The SRA's national passenger survey showed that 84 per cent of GNER passengers were either satisfied or very satisfied with their journey. Only six per cent were dissatisfied, with the rest not offering a view.

But the company's bosses were unhappy that less than three quarters of its trains had run on time during the of July to September

They said performance had been badly affected by poor weather, speed restrictions due to track subsidence south of Edinburgh and the impact of the Potters Bar tragedy.

Chief operating officer, Jonathan Metcalfe, said: "Improving punctuality remains a top priority. But it is good to see that passengers appreciate the lengths to which our staff go if services are disrupted."

Arriva Trains Northern saw its trains-on-time average for the quarter fall by more than three per cent to 80.5 per cent.

SRA chief operating officer Nick Newton said: "These figures are disappointing, especially as performance is beginning to improve year on year."

Just three of the 25 passenger train companies - Arriva Trains Merseyside, South West Trains and West Anglia Great Northern - performed better in July-September 2002 compared with the previous three months.

Nationally, overall opinion of journeys remained unchanged from the previous two passenger surveys, of autumn 2001 and spring 2002, with 73 per cent being satisfied in this autumn's poll.