FIRST Great Western managing director Mike Carroll has apologised to long-suffering passengers for a year of disruption on the trains.

And on the day when the company finally released its Christmas timetable, he promised a brighter future for commuters.

Writing in today's Advertiser, Mr Carroll admits the Swindon-based rail operator has suffered a "difficult few months".

But he says plans for new trains, better service and a station refurbishment will make the life of travellers easier in coming months.

He said: "Railtrack's ongoing speed restrictions continue to affect us.

"But we have exciting plans for 2001 which we hope will really benefit the customer."

First Great Western today urged people to book early to ensure they are able to travel this Christmas.

Mr Carroll said the majority of services will operate at near normal frequency, although journey times will be extended because of Railtrack's ongoing speed restrictions following the Hatfield disaster.

Passengers were experiencing more delays today between Swindon, Bristol and London Paddington because of engineering works and flooding in the Chipping Sodbury tunnel.

Christmas timetables should be available from today and can be viewed on the First Great Western website at:www.greatwesterntrains.co.uk.

IF you've been travelling regularly on the trains in 2000 you probably deserve an Olympic medal for patience and perseverance.

And you have every right to take a cynical view of promises from railway managers that things will improve.

It has been a year Mike Carroll, managing director of First Great Western, would rather forget.

But as we near the end of 2000, he insists the high profile problems that have beset his company are now being sorted out.

In the past year, First Great Western has received almost 94,000 complaints from passengers. This is equivalent to two written complaints for every train it runs.

No wonder then that in the latest of a string of special timetables produced by First Great Western, Mr Carroll pens a special letter apologising for ongoing delays.

The debacle of the railways has happened at a time when the Government is continuing its efforts to get us out of our cars and onto public transport. But there is clearly a long way to go before disillusioned commuters will be happy to leave their cars for a crowded, unreliable and potentially unsafe service.

First Great Western got off to a bad start in January when South Swindon MP Julia Drown demanded the train operator improve services from Swindon and renovate the station.

By March, things were getting steadily worse as we exposed a loophole in the pricing system.

We showed how two people could make exactly the same journey to London, but with one paying £17.40 more than the other. This ludicrous anomaly in fare structure meant the normal £51 peak time fare could be reduced simply by booking two day-return tickets one from Swindon to Didcot costing £5, and the other from Didcot to Paddington costing £28.60.

In April, services were disrupted around Swindon for more than seven weeks as Railtrack carried out essential engineering work.

Commuters also faced chaos this month as Swindon was hit by a freak snowstorm and a number of services between Swindon and Paddington were cancelled following a power failure.

There was some good news though, when First Great Western announced a new fleet of high speed trains. However, the company came under fire for not spending more on improving safety in the wake of Southall and Paddington.

In July, a terrorist bomb threat caused massive disruption to services between South Wales and Paddington.

In August, passengers travelling from Swindon to London were found to be getting the worst deal in the country as we exposed further discrepancies in First Great Western's pricing structure.

We revealed it was cheaper to travel from Bristol to Paddington than from Swindon, even though Bristol is 40 miles further away.

First Great Western responded to this investigation by claiming there were other factors to consider apart from distance, such as levels of customer service.

In September, passenger demands were answered with the news that £100,000 is to be spent on improving Swindon station.

The derailment at Hatfield in October left the already depleted rail network in tatters as companies checked their lines. First Great Western introduced emergency measures to cut the speed of trains, leaving rail travellers facing delays.

An emergency timetable was put in force with trains hampered by a 20mph speed limit to the west of Swindon station and at Pewsey. Passengers were faced with delays or cancellations on many services.

The end of October saw the culmination of the passenger misery as 90mph gales left commuters stranded at Swindon station with all services serving the South West cancelled.

The service between Swindon and Gloucester was also suspended for four weeks because the Sapperton Tunnel near Kemble had to close.

Through November, services floundered as a result of floods and speed restrictions. As First Great Western announced the equivalent of three weeks free travel in compensation, passengers said it was not enough.

To round things off, a damning report by the train watchdog The Rail Passengers Committee for Western England criticised the reliability and punctuality of First Great Western services and warned that it must improve if it is to hold on to its franchise and bid for others.

Nevertheless, there was some good news as Railtrack planned a £2.5 billion transformation of Wiltshire train services which would double the size of Swindon station and mean twice as much track.

This month, things have slowly been getting back to normal and Christmas timetables have been announced today which should ease the frustration of passengers trying to arrange their journeys.

Between December 18 and Christmas Eve, every service to the West of England from London Paddington is expected to operate, although journey times are likely to take longer.

With 14 new trains in service next year between London Paddington, Swindon, Bristol, Cardiff and the Cotswolds, the service for Swindon passengers should improve.

Passengers can also look forward to Virgin's new 125mph trains which will serve the London-Swindon-Birmingham route.

Long-suffering passenger Phil White represents fellow travellers as part of the 125 Commuters Club.

After the year he has had, he believes more should be done to repay passengers for their patience.

"I think it's a bit of a cheek. We should be compensated for at least 20 days rather than just 15.

"Peak hour trains are still missing, with people having to stand up on other services, so we definitely deserve the extra days.

"Obviously we're hoping for improvements in services and safety with the introduction of the Class 180 locomotives.

"We do welcome changes to the station, but we are hoping it will be done right for once. I think the toilets have been looked at four times already but they don't seem to be able to get it right."