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Friday 24 Jun 2005

PASSENGERS SHOW THEIR SATISFACTION AS CENTRAL TRAINS ENJOYS ITS BEST PUNCTUALITY IN FIVE YEARS

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Release: Embargoed until 10.00 hours on Friday 24th June Ref: PAM 069 Media Enquiries: 0121 654 1278 Central Trains services have recorded their best punctuality for five years with more than 8 out of ten trains now arriving at their destinations on time; a 1.4% improvement over the same period last year and more than 8% better than the first quarter of 2005. And what’s more, Central Trains has shown an improvement in 22 out of 30 categories in the independent National Passenger survey. Overall; 81% of passengers are satisfied with Central Trains’ services: that’s 4% up on last year. The table below shows the punctuality of our trains (arriving within 5 minutes of their advertised times): 2003 2004 2005 Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jan-Mar Apr-May 72.9% 76.2% 78.2% 81.3% 74.6% 82.7% Central Trains Operations Director Andy Thomas says: “I am disappointed that we had a 3.6% dip in punctuality when the first quarter of 2005 was compared to the first quarter of 2004. I am however delighted that our current operational performance has improved to the point where Central Trains has achieved its best punctuality for 5 years. The Passenger Satisfaction Survey shows that there has been a real improvement in the perception of our passengers that we are now delivering a good quality service. We are not complacent, we need to keep up the momentum in order to continue the improvement in performance that our passengers expect”.