The official rail passengers' watchdog for the North-East today condemned the quality of local rail services in the region.

It told MPs that a lack of staff, trains and other facilities has made services unreliable and punctuality poor.

The regional Rail Passengers Committee attacked the Government and the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) for lacking ''any perceptible dyniamic commitment to improvement.''

Their evidence to the Commons Transport Select Committee said: ''The SRA have to be dragged to the act, and are generally unsupportive of improvement initiatives. They do not take the lead.''

They also neglected even existing lines together with its partner Railtrack.

The watchdog's written evidence added: ''For example, the quality of verges, and the amount of graffiti on trackside structures and equpment is deplorable, contrasting starkly with the quality of highway verges.

''This is a stark demonstration of where Government and SRA priorities lie.''

The renewal of the Transpennine Express and the Northern rail franchises - the latter going to the strike-hit Arriva - ''seem to be based on providing the minimum service possible.''

The Passengers Committee also said neither the Government nor the SRA appeared to recognise the need to expand the rail network to meet congestion and pollution targets.

The evidence also took a swipe at the francising process, which it said was both ''too slow and too late'', and ''abdicating all responsibility once a franchise has been let.''

Jim Beale, chairman of the Passengers' Committee also attacked the failure of the SRA and the Government to award a long-term 15 year franchise for inter-city East Coast Main Line services - instead GNER's existing franchise was extended for two years. ''I can't see that short-term franchise extensions are going to provide real benefits,'' he said.

Transport Minister John Spellar would not comment on what stage plans for upgrading the ECML had reached.

''The SRA is at present taking this forward,'' he said, ''but it is a little too early for us to make an announcement on the upgrade.''