RAIL passengers in the South West suffered have suffered a poorer service than during one of the worst winters on record.

The claim is made by the Rail Passengers' Committee (RPC) for Western England in its newly-published annual report.

During the winter of 2000, services were delayed by floods and a slowdown caused by the track re-laying programme that followed the tragic derailment at Hatfield.

But in the first half of the 2001/02 financial year, there was even more inconvenience.

According to the RPC, the performance of the railways in Western England seemed to fall even further behind the best in Britain than in the previous year.

Problems identified include:

Continuing infrastructure problems

Delays and missed deadlines in the post-Hatfield rerailing programme

A lack of suitable diversionary routes throughout the region such routes are vital if delays are to be minimized during repair work.

However, the news was not all bad. As already revealed in the Evening Advertiser, First Great Western earned praise from the RPC for its positive response to an RPC investigation into its performance.

The inquiry was prompted by continuing passenger complaints, and the RPC has praised the firm for making efforts to create a more customer-focused management structure.