The major investment work on the west coast main line has now been completed which will lead to introduction of over 350 new services a day.

Passengers and freight users will benefit from the £9bn project once it is finally completed in December. The project will enable a huge increase in services across the route and faster and more comfortable journeys with the introduction of a new timetable across the entire 400 miles of the west coast route.

Peter Strachan, Network Rail route director, said: "The end is now in sight for the project and the prize of a bigger, better railway for passengers and freight users is only a few more steps away. December will see a massive increase in services along the west coast main line and a dramatic cut in journey times."

Concerns over a lack of funding for railway links at Gatwick Airport have also been raised by Surrey County Council.

The authority is the second to object to a planned cut in funding from £30m to £9m, and also "a lack of long-term investment in Redhill station".

Last month, West Sussex County Council said airport rail links could be "unfit for purpose" by the start of the London 2012 Olympics. (See our story Gatwick Airport rail links 'unfit for games' – 29 August 2008)

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Passengers are now able to enjoy simpler train fares for walk up rail journeys with the second stage of fares simplification which took effect on Sunday 7th September. This follows the introduction of simpler fares for advance journeys in May. ‘Walk-up’ fares (i.e. tickets that passengers don’t have to buy in advance of travel) will now be grouped into just two categories – Anytime or Off-Peak.

Anytime fares (Singles and Returns) can be purchased right up to the day and time of travel and used on any train without peak hour or any other restriction. Current ticket types that fall into the Anytime category include Open Singles and Open  Returns.

Off-Peak tickets are, as their name suggests, cheaper fares for travelling during periods when train services are generally less busy. They can be bought right up until the time of departure but they carry restrictions on the time, day or route of travel. Current ticket types that will be renamed Off-Peak include Savers and Cheap Day Returns.

Rail links to Gatwick Airport could be "unfit for purpose" by the time the London 2012 Olympics start, the government has been warned.

West Sussex County Council said a report showed £9m had been earmarked for improvements at Gatwick railway station, instead an expected £30m-plus and said comprehensive improvements were needed, not just for the Olympics but also to cope with expansion.

The Office of Rail Regulation said the plans were subject to consultation. A statement said: "We have looked at what the government requires at Gatwick. This is a draft determination which came out in June. We have got a period of consultation under way during which we welcome people's soundings, including those of West Sussex County Council.

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The Office of Rail Regulation, Britain's railway watchdog has set Network Rail a target of reducing passenger disruption from planned engineering works. These targets will mean that delays and cancellations must be cut by 17% within three years and by 37% within five years.

  The Office of Rail Regulation has told Network Rail it had to improve its management of the work to reduce unplanned disruption when it overran. The railway watchdog welcomed train company performance figures which showed more than nine out of 10 trains ran on time from April to June and also said train punctuality is at a 10-year high. However it insisted Network Rail had to implement a programme of improvements. Three engineering overruns caused travel chaos at New Year, leading to a record £14m for Network Rail imposed by the ORR

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