'Further improvements can be made' on Britain's railways

Date: 12/3/2012

Network Rail has welcomed comments from the government about the importance of further investment in the UK's trains.

The organisation noted that although safety and punctuality have improved over the past ten years, more can still be done to meet the increase in demand from both passengers and freight.

It stated many routes, especially those in London, are approaching capacity and better connectivity between services - as well as the introduction of HS2 - could help to alleviate this.

HS2 is the Y-shaped high speed railway that, when complete in 2026, will link stations in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and the East Midlands.

Network Rail Chief Executive David Higgins said: "Network Rail's core purpose remains that of delivering value for money to its customers and taxpayers as it strives to continuously improve the railway."

The organisation stated that although "fundamental restructuring" of the rail network is not required, it has developed alliances with train operators and de-centralised operations to its routes to improve the service.

Posted by Mary Treen