CONCERNS over rail services in West Kent are to be raised at an on-site meeting in Tunbridge Wells, due to be attended by Michael Holden, managing director of South Eastern Trains.

The meeting has been arranged by the constituency's Conservative MP Archie Norman and will take place on Friday, February 13.

Among issues to be discussed are short formation trains, punctuality, reliability, cleanliness and lack of information for passengers.

Mr Norman said: "Performance figures for the period December 7 to January 3 show that train punctuality is running 11 per cent below target, at 73.7 per cent.

"We understand there may be problems from time to time, but people in West Kent expect to see some progress on basic underlying performance."

South Eastern Trains (SET) took over responsibility for the regional rail network on November 9 after heavily-criticised operator Connex surrendered its franchise several weeks early.

SET is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority. It is running services until a private company is appointed to manage the new Integrated Kent Franchise, planned for early 2005.

On taking over, Mr Holden told commuters: "My plan for the next 12 months is simple: to get it right, first time, more often."

But Mr Norman believes SET is failing to reach its targets and wants Mr Holden to see some of the problems frequently faced by rail users for himself.