MORE than 90% of UK trains ran on time during the year to March, latest figures reveal.

But train companies serving Huddersfield railway station reported mixed results in their punctuality figures released by Network Rail – with only one of three operators hitting the 90% mark for trains arriving within five minutes of their scheduled arrival times.

First Transpennine Express – linking Huddersfield with cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Hull – reported that 90.30% of its trains reached their destinations “on time” during the 12 months under review.

However, that is down from 91.70% during the previous 12 months – although it compares with 89.30% in 2007 and 79/30% in 2006.

Northern Rail, which operates the Huddersfield-Penistone-Sheffield service, said 89.80% of its trains ran “on time” during the year to the end of March compared with 88.50% the previous year, 87.30% in 2007 and 86.50% in 2006.

National Express East Coast, linking Huddersfield via Leeds and Wakefield with the East Coast Main Line services to London and Scotland, reported 86.90% of its high-speed trains arriving within five minutes of the scheduled time. That compares with 82.60% last year, 82.70% the previous year and 83.50% in 2006.

Nationally, a total of 90.6% of trains ran “on time” in the 12 months ending in March, while the figure for April was a monthly record of 93.5%.

Network Rail operations and customer service director Robin Gisby said: “Passengers are today experiencing the most punctual train service ever provided on Britain’s railways.”

Train punctuality dipped sharply at the beginning of this decade after speed restrictions were brought in following the October, 2000, Hatfield rail crash.

When Network Rail took over responsibility for rail infrastructure from Railtrack in 2002, punctuality was less than 79%.

The best-performing company in this year’s figures was c2c, which runs trains between London, Tilbury and Southend, which achieved a trains-on-time figure of 95.3%. Chiltern and Merseyrail also reached the 95% mark.

Virgin Trains and London Midland were the worst-performing train companies – with their services badly disrupted by the £9bn upgrade of the West Coast Main Line, which was completed last December.