Reliability and punctuality improved on Thameslink trains in March.

The company recorded its worst ever time keeping figures at the end of last year but its punctuality climbed to 88.92 per cent in March on the core Brighton-Bedford route.

Virtually nine out of ten trains arrived within five minutes of the scheduled time.

Fewer cancellations meant reliability improved to 99.4 per cent in the four weeks to Sunday March 31.

Between October and December last year more than 40 per cent of Thameslink trains were late.