Network Rail told to cut engineering work disruptions by a third

The West Coast Main Line is one of the most disrupted routes

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Network Rail must cut disruptions caused by engineering work by a third over the next five years, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) said yesterday.

In its national rail review, the regulator told Network Rail to reduce disruption to rail users by 17% within three years and 37% within five years.

ORR chief executive Bill Emery said: "The regular closure of parts of the network for engineering work causes substantial disruption and inconvenience to many passengers and freight customers, as well as deterring others from using the network altogether.

"Network Rail must continue to carry out a full schedule of maintenance and renewal of the infrastructure, together with a massive programme of enhancements to increase network capacity.

"But work by Network Rail and train operators has shown that it should be possible both to achieve increased efficiency and to reduce disruption to train services by adopting best practice and exploiting technological advances."

The ORR has also told Network Rail to improve the way it manages engineering possessions to reduce unplanned disruption when work overruns, insisting on better contingency planning and stronger on-site management.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Passengers are today enjoying the best train punctuality since records began - a record we're continuing to push to new levels.

"Reducing disruption caused by improvement work is a central pillar of our plans in the years ahead. Delivering a railway at weekends to the standard we see during the week must be our goal and we've asked the ORR for significant funds to make this 'seven-day railway' a reality."

One of the routes most affected by continuous engineering works is the London to Glasgow West Coast Main Line.

Improvements are due to be finished by December 2008 but transport group Stagecoach has warned that engineers are struggling with the £8.6bn upgrade.