As stated among others, instead of replacing with new infrastructure, the company is still repairing old ones, with costs increasing further in the long run.
London, Thanasis Gavos
The current level of funding for Britain’s rail network does not allow for sufficient “operation, maintenance and renewal” of infrastructure such as tracks, bridges and ground equipment, warns a report by Network Rail, which has responsibility for this infrastructure.
The report was leaked on Tuesday morning and predicts the deterioration of both the network and rail services over the next five years.
As stated among other things, instead of replacing with new infrastructure, the company is still repairing the old ones, with the cost increasing further in the long run.
It is also noted that a £3 billion fund earmarked to cover emergencies such as grid problems due to weather is expected to be cut. Priority will be given to the infrastructures that serve the most profitable routes.
As a result, the report warns, over the next five years there will be fewer repairs on the network overall, causing service delays to worsen and the risk of accidents increasing.
The report has been drafted for the briefing of senior figures in the rail industry in Britain, but was leaked to the Independent newspaper.
The revelation comes as the latest rail performance figures, for the final quarter of 2022, show 4.5% of journeys were cancelled. This is the highest percentage since 2014.
Also, in 37.7% of the cases there were late arrivals of trains at the stations.
Asked to comment on the leak, a Department for Transport spokesman referred to £44.1bn of funding to Network Rail from 2024 to 2029.
Source :Skai
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