The plight of Sussex rail commuters has been highlighted in a damning dossier of neglect by passenger watchdogs.

The report exposes the appalling state of vandalised and filthy carriages, the repeated late arrival of trains and failure to crack down on fare-dodgers.

The Arun Valley Rail Users' Association, which has almost 300 members, today warned new operator Govia, which took over from Connex South Central at the end of last month, that it must make rapid improvements.

Association secretary Trevor Tupper said: "The way is now clear for Govia to start work on upgrading track and stations.

"Upgrading the Arun Valley line is top of Govia's priorities. Also, we expect Govia to order the remaining rolling stock required to replace all existing slam-door stock by 2004."

In the last year of Connex South Central's reign, the proportion of peak-hour trains arriving within five minutes of the scheduled time was just 65.7 per cent. The target was 84 per cent.

Mr Tupper said: "Unless there is a rapid improvement, season ticket holders renewing after January 2002 will again receive a five per cent discount.

"Off-peak performance seems to be reasonably good on the Arun Valley, unlike that on the main Brighton line where delays of between ten and 30 minutes on the trains coming via Hove are commonplace.

"An area where there has been no improvement is the state of our coaches. Connex seemed to lose all interest in preventing vandalism or repairing those coaches that had been vandalised.

"As a result, a very high percentage of trains have scratched windows, filthy or out-of-order toilets, missing light fittings and torn and stained upholstery.

"The remaining first class compartments have lighting levels so low that it is impossible to read or work. Added to this is the poor standard of cleaning, which means that many trains are starting their journeys full of litter on the floor and on the seats.

"This is an area where we will be looking to Govia to make early and substantial improvements."

Mr Tupper said there had been little action by customer action teams, or ticket inspectors, to crack down on fare-dodgers.

He said: "Conductors seem to look at tickets on about 30 per cent of trains, leaving passengers on the other 70 per cent to either be honest, assuming they can find someone to sell them a ticket, or to cheat."

Shelley Atlas, chairman of the Brighton Line Commuters group, said: "We would certainly support more efforts to stop fare-dodgers. A lot of commuters are very unhappy about the number of people who are getting away with free travel. As for punctuality, Connex's record was appalling.

"Last week Govia was putting out announcements on trains introducing itself to commuters and thanking them for travelling with the company.

"We don't want that. We don't want flowery announcements. They are just an annoyance to be honest. What we want is clear information, particularly when something has gone wrong.

"We also want to see a proper contingency plan in place for when something does happen, for example if a station has to close. At the moment if this happens it is murder, total chaos. No matter how many times it happens, they never seem to be prepared."

Mr Tupper was worried modern rolling stock was being introduced too slowly on Sussex routes. And he pointed out that the new carriages had little or no room for heavy luggage, bikes or prams.

On Saturday, the Argus revealed that the number of complaints against train companies in the South East rose by nine per cent during the past year.

Connex South Central drew 707 complaints, compared to 545 the previous year.

The company handed over responsibility to Govia eight days ago after the Government refused to extend its franchise.

Connex blamed speed restrictions following the Hatfield rail disaster and autumn flooding for the rise. It said it was confident Govia's takeover would result in improved standards.

But Mr Tupper warned: "We understand there will be little evidence of the handover for some time. All but the most senior HQ staff have transferred to Govia.

"Eventually trains will have a green livery and to herald this green stripes will appear on some trains and stations quite soon."