CENTRAL Trains has been fined more than £47m for a litany of late and cancelled services over the last five years.

The operator of one of Worcestershire's main rail service has clocked up more "performance penalties" than any other train firm since 2000.

Last year was its worst so far, with a total of £11.3m of fines, the Department for Transport revealed.

However, the train operator blamed its problems on the poor infrastructure provided by track operator Network Rail.

A spokesman said: "We actually get back most of the money we have to pay from Network Rail, because three-quarters of our problems are caused by the rail infrastructure."

Chiltern Railways has also incurred heavy fines totalling £2.4m since 2000.

However, its fines have fallen in the last few years - from £846,000 in 2002/3 to £189,000 in 2004/5 - as its performance has improved.

In contrast to Central Trains and Chiltern Railways, Virgin's Cross Country service has hardly racked up any performance penalties.

Its only fine since 1997 was one for £2,000 in 2003/4.

The fines were revealed to Parliament by Transport Minister Derek Twigg, who said: "The franchising authority pays performance bonuses to train operators for exceeding performance targets.

"If performance is poor, operators pay a performance penalty. Payments of both types are made at four weekly intervals."

The figures were released as West Midlands rail services are facing a massive shake-up.

Ministers announced in October that the region's four franchises would be reduced to three, with Central Trains axed and the Cross Country franchise taken off Virgin.

Mr Twigg has also expressed the Government's desire to see two new through-services for Worcestershire as part of the reconfiguration.