| Weekend rail problems until 2014? |
| Saturday, 07 June 2008 | |
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Weekend rail problems until 2014? According to the rail regulator, train passengers face disruption from weekend engineering work for years to come. The situation would have improved by 2014 but there would still be "some way to go" to a full seven-day railway, said the Office of Rail Regulation. The regulator has also said that Network Rail's funding should be £26.5bn for 2009-14, £3bn less than reqiested Network Rail said its plans to meet rising demand could be put at risk. The budget was revealed in the regulator's "draft determinations" containing Network Rail's funding and projects for five years from April 2009. A final decision will be made in October. The regulator's performance director Michael Lee said: "Network Rail is very conscious that there is too much disruption to services. It is going to take a long time to achieve everything that can be done." Commenting on the situation at the end of the five-year period, he added: "There will be much less disruption by then but there will still be some way to go." The regulator backed plans for major projects contained in the government's railway White Paper. These included: * The Thameslink scheme * Redeveloping Birmingham New Street station * Rebuilding Reading station * New line from Airdrie to Bathgate in Scotland * New Glasgow airport rail link * Work on the East Coast line from Peterborough to Doncaster The regulator also supported government targets for trains running on time by 2014 of 92.6% in England and Wales, and at least 92% in Scotland. Its chief executive Bill Emery described it as a "good package for passengers, for freight customers and for taxpayers". However Iain Coucher, Network Rail's chief executive described the funding settlement as "insufficient". Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said the announcement was a "step in the right direction" but that "much more" should be done to improve Network Rail's performance. Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker accused the government of failing of to plan ahead to meet a projected increase in passengers numbers beyond 2014. |
