Record nine out of 10 trains arriving on time

At last some good news for commuters - nine out of 10 trains are now on time, the best performance ever.

Network Rail said 89.9 per cent of trains arrived on schedule during the year ending 31 March.

In April the national average figure nudged just over the 90 per cent mark for the first time since records began.

Network Rail, which replaced disgraced Railtrack in 2002, also announced an after-tax profit of £1.2 billion - up from £1billion in the previous 12 months.

The company was quick to stress this was a paper profit only with all monies invested back into the network.

Operating profit, the actual running of the railway with the train companies paying for use of the tracks, increased from £2.3billion to £2.4billion.

But Network Rail's debt also rose over the last year from £18.4billion to £19.7billion.

The profits put the company's directors on track for hefty bonuses but it is not known if they will accept the full amounts after problems with finishing engineering work on time.