ONLY two per cent of trains on the vital tourist link between Windermere and Manchester Airport were on time last month.

Sharp-eyed transport enthusiast Malcolm Thompson of the Lakes Line Action Group jotted down the running times of Trans Pennine Express trains as they left Oxenholme between September 27 and October 30 and discovered that just two out of the 119 trains he recorded were on schedule.

Fifty were more than 14 minutes late and there were seven trains that were so behind time they became the next time-tabled service. Another 48 were under nine minutes late, some of which could have arrived at Windermere on time due to leeway in the timetable.

A contrite Huge Clancy, TransPennine's commercial director, told Saturday's Lakes Line Action Group annual meeting that the firm was "not pleased at all" with its recent performance.

Timetabling changes dictated by Virgin Trains to allow for the introduction of its high-speed Pendolino Trains on the West Coast Main Line had caused problems, he said. Leaves on the line were also a challenge in autumn.

"We need to go away and find out if there are any timetable changes we can make to improve the matter. The most obvious way is also the unpalatable i.e. making more services request stops which is not something we want to do."

But there was also some good news for the Lakes Line between Oxenholme and Windermere.

Trains that ceased stopping at Burneside and Staveley two months ago will be restored in December and Kendal Station has been picked as one of four TransPennine stations to pilot new help points.

Some time between January and March, CCTV cameras will be mounted on the platform overlooking a phone link to the Transpennine control room. There will also be a new IT system with monitors giving updated rail information.

"Over the years there's been a lot of vandalism at Kendal," said Mr Thompson of the Lakes Line Action Group. "It should deter vandals and make people feel safer."