ONE train in every five heading to Helensburgh Central failed to arrive in the town on time, according to new statistics.

ScotRail’s latest punctuality figures state that 80.1 per cent of services to Helensburgh between April 28 and May 25 met the rail industry ‘public performance measure’ (PPM) standard by reaching the station within five minutes of its scheduled arrival time.

And when the much stricter standard of trains arriving at their destination within 60 seconds of their scheduled time is applied, the figure for Helensburgh Central falls to 41.2 per cent.

READ MORE: Helensburgh train service still worse than ScotRail average, new report finds

Across Scotland, however, ScotRail reported the best PPM performance for nine months, with 90.5 per cent of all trains arriving at their destination within five minutes of their due time.

The four-week period covered by the latest punctuality figures includes the introduction of a new timetable on May 19, when minor changes were made to some Helensburgh train times to improve reliability through the busy section of track between Partick and Hyndland stations.

The rail operator is now providing 115,000 more seats across Scotland compared to when Abellio took over the franchise in 2015, and is running 11 per cent more services than 10 years ago, when the franchise was held by First Group.

READ MORE: New ScotRail timetable: all you need to know about Helensburgh's trains

Alex Hynes, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: “The timetable changes we have made follows unprecedented investment in Scotland’s railway. I am delighted we have been able to deliver the service our customers expect and deserve.

“Everyone across the ScotRail Alliance is continuing to work flat out every day to improve the service, and achieving our best punctuality since September last year shows that the hard work is delivering for our customers.”