PUNCTUALITY on the nation’s rail network has reached its lowest point in over a decade, figures from the Office of Rail and Road have revealed, leading to rail campaigners to demand action in light of fare rises.

More than one in 10 (12.3 per cent) trains failed to reach their destinations on time last year, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). This is the worst performance for a 12-month period since the year ending September 2006, when the figure reached 12.5 per cent.

The rail industry counts trains as being on time if they arrive at their terminating stations within five minutes of their schedule for commuter services and within 10 minutes for long distance routes.

Other figures show 3.8 per cent of trains were cancelled or at least half an hour late last year, the highest moving annual average since September 2003.

Figures for Great Western Railway, which operates services through Swindon and Wiltshire, show a decline of almost five per cent over the course of the year for punctuality.

For the year ending December 10, 2016, 81.6 per cent of GWR trains arrived at their final destination within the target window of their scheduled arrival time.

This marks a decline of 4.8 per cent of services on the same period the previous year when 86.4 per cent of trains achieved their target.

A spokesman for GWR put the decline down to “significant flooding” during the period, and revealed January figures showed an increase in punctuality to 89.5 per cent, although these figures have not yet been published.

He added: “Almost nine in 10 of our services arrive within 10 minutes of the advertised time, however, we know how important punctuality is to our passengers. That is why we set ourselves challenging targets for improvement, and when we fall short of those standards, it is right that we compensate accordingly.

“We recognise there have been significant infrastructure challenges on key parts of our network.

"Everyone at GWR and Network Rail is determined to see improvements, and we are working hard with Network Rail to help them deliver improvements for us. The Great Western network is currently undergoing its biggest period of investment since Brunel.”

Rail fares increased by an average of 2.3 per cent last month, sparking protests at railway stations.

Lianna Etkind, of the Campaign for Better Transport, claimed the national figures show train firms are “still delivering a very lacklustre service” despite “sky-high prices”.

She said: “It’s time that the Government got a grip of the situation and starts to give passengers what they want: an affordable and reliable rail service.

“They should begin by ensuring that rail contracts give stronger incentives for punctuality, reliability and passenger service and channel investment into those worn-out parts of the network which cause delays.”

The latest bi-annual National Rail Passenger Survey by Transport Focus in autumn last year revealed that 81 per cent of passengers are satisfied with Britain’s railways, a figure which has not been lower since spring 2007.