Sussex train operators are among the worst when it comes to punctuality.

Figures released yesterday show more and more trains are arriving late, while complaints about rail services are increasing.

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) says one in seven trains operated by companies will be more than five minutes late.

One of the worst is the cross-London Thameslink service, which has seen the number of trains arriving within five minutes of its scheduled times fall by ten per cent.

The figures are for April to October 2001 and are compared to the same period last year.

South Central is owned by Govia and has operated in Sussex since August this year.

It has seen its percentage fall by six per cent.

Shelley Atlas, of Brighton Line Commuters, said: "These figures are very worrying.

"Only on Wednesday night we had a meeting with the bosses of South Central to express concerns.

"We just hope this new company, which is responsible for running the majority of services on the Brighton Line, can meet its promises to improve the service and get more trains arriving on time."

Marsid Greenidge, spokesman for South Central, said: "We are new to this franchise and our plans for the future include improving punctuality."

Connex gave up its franchise to run the Brighton Line in August and now runs services from London to Hastings.

It is one of the few rail companies that did not record a fall.

South West Trains, which runs trains out of Brighton to Reading via Chichester and Basingstoke, has seen the number of trains arriving late rise by 11 per cent.

The majority of South West Train services are on heavily-congested routes out of London's Waterloo station.

Virgin CrossCountry, which operates out of Brighton to the North West of England and Scotland, with two trains a day, is the worst performer.

Only one in four of its trains arrive within five minutes of the scheduled time.

The company operates some of the longest train journeys in the country with the Brighton to Edinburgh route taking ten hours.

Gatwick Express, which in past years has been one of the most reliable operators in and out of Sussex, has seen its performance drop by six per cent.

For the April to October period, train companies had to pay poor performance penalties totalling £41.2 million, compared with just £6.2 million in the equivalent period last year.

The survey by the SRA showed 64 per cent of travellers were satisfied with punctuality compared with 68 per cent last year.