GREAT Western Railway’s high speed services have proven not to be quite so high-speed, after missing their target for punctuality.

The services notched up 88.5 per cent in punctuality during the four weeks from December 11 to January 7 - slightly missing out on their target of 90 per cent. But the ageing fleet exceeded its target for reliability of 99.2 per cent by 0.4 per cent.

A GWR spokesman said: “We’re measured by our public performance measure score and, thanks to hard work, this has improved since the franchise began.

“The age of trains, lines and stations – and the temporary speed limits these cause – have been a major challenge.

“But, with Network Rail, we’ve made improvements, like the new environmentally-friendly engines in all of our high-speed trains. These have made it more likely that your train arrives on time and gets you to your destinations. “