Network Rail has just published (26 June 2009) its annual report for the year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, a year in which the company delivered record levels of investment, strong financial performance with healthy profits reinvested in the railway and train punctuality at a new all time high.

Iain Coucher chief executive said about the report,  "Network Rail has had a good year meeting or exceeding almost all its targets and those set by the Office of Rail Regulation.

"Train performance is at an all time high, the railway has never been safer to travel on, millions of pounds have been saved from the cost of running the network and billions invested to make further improvements.

"I have forgone my bonus this year to enable the company's record to speak for itself. All of the people that work for me, from track worker, to signal box to board-room have met and exceeded tough targets, delivered record levels of performance and have provided customers with a better railway - they deserve to share in our success."

Network Rail had a successful year:

• Safety indicators improved again with rail continuing to be the safest form of transport in Britain
• Passenger satisfaction levels, at 83%, reached a new high
• Train punctuality is at its highest level since records began with an average of 90.6% of trains arriving on-time over the period. This compares to 78.6% when Network Rail became infrastructure operator in October 2002
• Network Rail-attributed delays were reduced by 600,000 minutes over the last year. A 6.3% reduction to 8.9m down from 9.5m - the lowest level for over a decade and beating the Office of Rail Regulation target
• Profit before tax stable at £1,524m (2007/8: £1,597m)
• Record investment in the railway totaling £4.7bn, up from £4bn.
• 4.0% efficiency gains delivered over the year, saving £360m from the cost of running the railway