More and more Ealing commuters are being left stranded on the platform as a result of London Underground delays, according to figures released by Capital Transport.

The Central, District and Piccadilly lines, all of which are vital routes in and out of Ealing borough, all experienced an increase in delays in 1999.

Capital Transport says all recorded delays are for 15 minutes or longer and are a result of London Underground faults.

Last year's increase in delays reflects similar yearly figures recorded by Capital Transport since 1994.

Of the three, the Central Line was the hardest hit with 388 delays over the 12-month period.

The District Line was hit with 237 delays, a 45 per cent increase on the previous year's figures.

The Piccadilly Line was hit with 170 delays, just a nine per cent increase on 1998 figures.

London Underground dismissed the Capital Transport report as misleading.

'London Underground is doing everything it can to improve the reliability and quality of its services.

'We are certainly not complacent but Capital Transport's campaign figures are misleading, unhelpful and do not show the true picture,'' a London Underground spokesman said.

He said most delays were caused by the upgrade of rail facilities and an increasing number of underground users.

Since 1994, the number of underground users has increased from 54.8 million to 63.1 million.