Huge rail upgrade 'still not enough'

Despite the investment of billions of pounds the West Coast Main Line could be struggling to meet demand again within years, MPs have warned.

A report published on Thursday also said that financial management of the project, which is £6bn over budget, has got better but still has "ample room for improvement".

The Commons public accounts committee said on Thursday that the railway upgrade has now delivered benefits.

"Passenger numbers are up, journey times are down and trains are more likely to run on time," committee chairman Edward Leigh found.

However the report warned that as a result demand is already nearing capacity on the line, which may have to be increased again.

The spending watchdog said the total cost of the project came in at at £8.6bn, some £6bn more than originally budgeted for after an "ambitious" reliance on untested signalling technology failed.

The problems contributed to the private sector firm Railtrack going into administration in 2001.

Even after the publicly-owned Network Rail took over, the overspend is still estimated at £300m of taxpayers' money.

While projected management has improved, Network Rail needs to continue to drive down contractors' costs while passengers face the prospect of further disruption as a result of poor planning, the MPs warned.

"It is not as if spending on such a heroic scale is the end of the story," Leigh said.

"Demand for the services on the West Coast Main Line has grown more quickly than expected and some parts of the route are already at or near capacity. It is extraordinary that in only eight years time the line once again may not be able to meet demand.

"The Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation must explore with Network Rail and the train operating companies every measure they can to enable greater use of the existing tracks, increase train capacity and minimise disruption to services from work on the track and signalling.

"There must be no suggestion that, following the expenditure of billions of pounds on the line, railway passengers should simply have to resign themselves to the stress and inconvenience of chronic overcrowding."