TRAINS from Norfolk to London are running at their most punctual since National Express East Anglia took over the route, the operator revealed yesterday.

TRAINS from Norfolk to London are running at their most punctual since National Express East Anglia took over the route, the operator revealed yesterday.

The newly-rebranded company, known until recently as One Railways, added that the record punctuality figures were reflected elsewhere in its routes across the region.

The annual average punctuality of services on National Express East Anglia (NEEA) lines is now up to 90.28pc, the highest level it has achieved.

And over the most recent figures, for the four weeks to March 1, 90.99pc of trains arrived at their destination less than 10 minutes late for intercity services, and within five minutes for all others.

Routes from Norwich fared even better than the regional average, with Norwich to London mainline services reaching 91.2pc and rural services from Norwich and Ipswich to destinations including Sheringham, Lowestoft, Yarmouth and Cambridge standing at

91.5pc.

The levels fall well within the target set in the joint performance improvement plan put together by NEEA and Network Rail to achieve 88pc punctuality last summer, increasing to 90pc.

They also show an improvement on the 84.96pc punctuality rate in 2004, when the original company took over, and the 86.94pc figure last March, when the improvement plan was launched.

A spokesman for NEEA said the latest figures were some of the best in the country for a large operator running so many routes.

Andrew Chivers, managing director, added that it was now working on plans to further increase performance standards and reduce the frequency and impact of major disruption to services.

He said: "I would like to thank our employees and those in Network Rail for their efforts since March 2007 to make our service more reliable.

"We're passionate about maintaining these positive performance trends and providing an even better service for our customers."