According to Network Rail, the company that owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure, passengers are likely to face severe overcrowding, longer journeys and no new lines before they see any substantial improvements to the network. In short, for the country’s already beleaguered rail travellers, things will get considerably worse before they get better.

A new study to be commissioned by Network Rail will be the third of its kind in a decade to look into the feasibility of high-speed rail lines. Notwithstanding the urgent need for improvements and expansion of the rail network, and particularly the need for high-speed routes, the government is failing to commit sufficient funds or strategize adequately for the network’s future.

Passenger demand for rail travel continues to show strong growth, due in part to the high cost of housing in London and fuel prices, with a 45% increase in passenger numbers in the past decade alone. But due to constraints on the network’s capacity, there has only been an increase of around 20% in the number of trains.

Not only will passengers face worsening service in train travel, but they will have to shoulder a larger share of its cost, as the government plans to reduce public funding by £1.5 billion a year – by 2014 passengers will have to pay three-quarters of the cost, as opposed to their current 50% share (the cost is now split evenly between farepayers and taxpayers). 

Network Rail’s new study will look at the costs and benefits of new lines on five inter-city routes. But the company admitted that a high-speed network was unlikely to be built soon, due to funding constraints and environmental considerations. Instead, the focus will be on a few short stretches of routes operating at conventional speed, with the aim of relieving the worst points on long-distance routes, such as London to Peterborough, Rugby and Swindon.

The government’s plan to expand rail capacity by 22.5% by 2014 will fall far short on some routes, which are growing by 10% a year, said Iain Coucher, the chief executive of Network Rail. Current government measures to try and meet demand, such as lowering fares to encourage off-peak travel, would also be inadequate in the longer term.

Faced with longer delays, longer journey times and increased costs, travellers may find that driving to their destination will seem an increasingly preferable option – at least until they start to see tangible, cost-effective and time-saving improvements to the country’s rail and other public transport networks.

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