Rail fine 'will hit taxpayers'

Last Modified: 09 May 2008
Source: ITN

Rail regulators have been slammed for giving Network Rail a £14 million fine that will be passed on to the taxpayer.

The Office of Rail Regulation slapped the railway operator with the record penalty after Christmas and New Year engineering work overran.

Thousands of rail travellers had miserable journeys after delays on the West Coast Main Line at Rugby in the West Midlands and at Liverpool Street station in London.

But taxpayers will have to pick up the £14 million tab as the company is a not-for-profit organisation.

Rail user groups Passenger Focus and the Association of Train Operating Companies said they were disappointed an alternative to the fine was not approved.

Network Rail wanted the fine to be set aside and suggested it spend the money on improvements.

But the regulator remained convinced of "systemic weaknesses" in the planning and execution of engineering work and insisted the penalty, first imposed in February, should stand.

Passenger Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: "We brokered a package of passenger improvements, mainly focused on boosting the quality of passenger information, which would have meant some benefit reached passengers from this regulatory action.

"Now £14 million of extra investment has been lost to passengers."

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