Drivers employed by train operator Arriva have been paid Christmas bonuses at the height of the district's rail crisis.

The payments, believed to total about £400 each, come as passengers struggle with revised timetables. Dozens of trains have been cancelled, most replaced by buses. The Wharfedale line between Forster Square and Ilkley is worst hit, with cancellations in evening and weekend services.

Arriva says it is striving to keep staff in the face of a national shortage of drivers. It recently agreed to an 18 per cent pay increase, which it says will bring drivers' salaries up to £28,000 a year.

Today the firm said it could not comment on what it called "a staff matter" but an insider told the Telegraph & Argus that the bonus had been awarded to drivers - although station staff are not affected.

Alan Dodd, district secretary of train drivers' union Aslef, confirmed that the bonuses would be paid to drivers.

"The bonus was negotiated as part of an incentive package. We've also negotiated on annual holidays and overtime," he said

Councillor Anne Ozolins, a member of West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority, said: "I don't think that people who are waiting for compensation because of the way they have suffered from train cancellations will be very happy to hear about this."

But the bonus payments were welcomed by Derrick Jones, secretary of Wharfedale Rail Users' Group.

He said: "I am glad that they are making efforts to retain their staff, but whether they are doing enough is the question."

Arriva has to prove to the Strategic Rail Authority next month that it is on line for improving its services.

It could face competition for its franchise after another major transport operator confirmed to the T&A today that it would be interested in taking it over.

Robin Etherington, of FirstGroup, which runs bus services across the region, including First Bradford, said it would be pleased to talk to the SRA if Arriva was stripped of the franchise. "A lot of issues would have to be discussed," he said. "But we have experience in running big services and we have also had driver-shortage problems. We encouraged other members of our staff, including clerical officers, to train for driving."

"The railway industry is experiencing a need for more drivers and it can't be solved by swapping drivers between companies."

FirstGroup is bidding for the Trans-Pennine Express franchise and runs a number of other rail services, as well as the Great Eastern franchise between London, Essex and Suffolk.

Arriva faces a £2 million fine from the SRA because of its poor service between May and August when hundreds of passengers were left waiting at stations for trains which did not arrive.

It was also fined £9m in March by the SRA for its poor performance.

l Ticket office staff were meeting Arriva Trains Northern chiefs today in a final attempt to claim a 40 per cent pay rise before resorting to possible strike action.

The Salaried Staff Association (TSSA), which represents station workers, says ticket office clerks who work at Arriva-operated stations earn about £11,000 compared with the £16,000 earned by colleagues employed by other train-operators.