REGIONAL train operator National Express East Anglia said yesterday it had maintained its improvement in punctuality in recent weeks.

REGIONAL train operator National Express East Anglia said yesterday it had maintained its improvement in punctuality in recent weeks.

The annual average punctuality of train services on routes operated by the company is now up to 90.4%, the highest level since the current franchise began.

Over the latest four-week performance period (to Monday, March 31), 91.62% of services arrived at destination “on time” - within five minutes of the published arrival time for most services and within 10 minutes for intercity services.

Mainline services on the London-Colchester-Ipswich-Norwich route, together with the Braintree, Clacton and Harwich branches, achieved a figure of 89.2% while on rural routes out of Ipswich and Norwich, including services, Cambridge, Lowestoft and Felixstowe, the figure was 91.8%.

West Anglia services between London and Cambridge recorded the region's best figure, of 94.5%, closely followed by the Stansted Express airport service on 92.0%. Metro services from London to Shenfield and Southend saw 90.2% punctuality.

The figures for the latest four-week period mean that the annual average figures for Rural, Stansted Express and West Anglia services are now all above 90% while the Mainline and Metro annual results are above 88%.

National Express East Anglia, previously known as One, has already met a commitment - contained in a Joint Performance Improvement Plan launched with Network Rail last March - to reach an annual average of 90% punctuality, compared with 84.96% when the franchise began in April 2004.

The two organisations are now finalising plans to improve performance still further towards a 91% annual average performance.

Andrew Chivers, managing director for National Express East Anglia, said: “We are pleased to have maintained higher standards of punctuality during March, fulfilling our commitment made last year and providing some of the best performance across the region ever recorded.

“We're now close to finalising plans with Network Rail to further increase performance levels towards a 91% annual average, whilst also reducing the frequency and impact of major disruptive incidents which cause inconvenience to customers. These additional initiatives should extend the real, tangible progress delivered over the past year.”