Thursday 5 Jun 2008
NETWORK RAIL STARTS FIGHT TO SECURE MORE FUNDING FOR RAIL IMPROVEMENTS
- Region & Route:
- National
Network Rail today responded to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) draft conclusions on the funding of the railway by warning that the settlement puts at risk much need improvements for passengers and freight users.
Iain Coucher, Chief Executive, said: “Demand for more and better rail services continues to grow. It is vitally important that we get the right level of funding to meet passenger and freight user needs, so that we can deliver the railway that this country needs into the next decade.
“On the face of it, the proposed funding settlement is insufficient. I am extremely concerned that the funding settlement outlined today will put our plans to meet rising demand at risk.
“In the coming months, Network Rail will use everything in its power to secure the funding necessary to build a bigger and better railway. Passengers and freight users would expect nothing less.
Notes to editors
Network Rail’s funding is reviewed every five years (a control period). This iterative, two year, process is now drawing to a close with the ORR publishing its final conclusions in OctoberContact information
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About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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