MAJOR rail operators in the region sought to defend themselves last night after new figures revealed train punctuality has deteriorated.

The percentage of trains running on time worsened on 21 of the 25 passenger train company routes across the country this summer.

The figures, released by the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, relate to the percentage of trains running on time from late June to mid-September.

Great North Eastern Railways, which runs the East Coast main line, was the worst performer, with punctuality figures dipping by nine per cent compared to the same period in 1999.

The region's other major train operators, Virgin Cross Country and Northern Spirit, also fared badly, with punctuality falling by six per cent and four per cent respectively.

GNER has put its poor figures down to a three-week period in the summer, which saw major delays caused by bomb scares at Newcastle and Darlington railway stations and freak thunderstorms, which hit County Durham and North Yorkshire.

A spokesman for the company said: "We are acutely aware that thousands of people were delayed and we are grateful for their understanding.

"But a number of the delays were caused by extraordinary events which were beyond our control."

A spokesman for Virgin Cross Country said its punctuality figures were affected by the fact it is operating old trains which are often unreliable.

"We are introducing a completely new fleet of trains in 2001/2002 and we believe passengers will soon see real improvements."

Northern Spirit said that during the summer period it has had restricted access to a number of platforms as a result of the £165m project to improve Leeds station.

"The problem has created an increased bottleneck in and out of Leeds, a major hub for our services, which has had an impact on performance."

On long distance high speed routes, trains are regarded as being on time if they arrive within ten minutes of their scheduled time.

The Rail Passengers Committee, which looks after the interests of train users, said it would like to see improvements made across the entire rail journey, and not just centring around delays.