�22.2bn of public money will be given to Network Rail over the next five years to improve Britain's railways. Network Rail bosses say they want punctuality and reliability to improve on the rail network as a result of the funding.
However it's �2bn less than it was hoping for and could see delays to planned improvement work on tracks, signals and stations.
Network Rail operate on a not-for-profit basis and replaced the private company, Railtrack.
But will the extra funding improve the rail network? Is a complete overhaul needed to get people out of their cars?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received:
Only if the money doesn't go to the pockets of those higher up the ladder. Passengers? Who cares about them? The view of the managers is that the passengers need transport, and will pay exorbitant prices for rubbish service regardless!
Talash, England
I love the way everyone blames Network Rail and the train companies for the state of the rail network. I daresay those same complainers are the ones who voted for tax cuts in the 80s - sorry folks, but this is the result and YOU are to blame.
Ian Bartlett, Chesham, UK
We have to decide in the UK whether we want our public transport to make a profit or provide a service. In all the countries where we are jealous of the trains/trams/buses there are huge subsidies from taxpayers to make the systems new and nice and safe and at a price people will pay. If our public transport was like these countries we have to be prepared to pay in out taxes. The only problem is no political party in the UK has such a policy so you cannot vote for it.
A Pankhurst, Stoke-On-Trent UK The fundamental flaw in all privatisations occurs where lucrative parts of a business are given to private contractors to run, whereas the loss-making parts remain unsold. If, for example, more emphasis is put on freight on rails, that could make a lot of money and be offset against naturally loss-making passenger services.
Alex Keel, London, UK
The Tories made a complete hash of the privatisation. Under Labour a lot of fine-sounding rhetoric has been spouted and what we have now is a more expensive version delivering a lower quality of service while yet more layers of managers and bean-counters pour over every move (when the trains do actually move, that is)
Jonny, England
The fans of nationalisation are as usual remembering a golden age that never was. I commuted by train in the UK all through the fifties and sixties and it was a horrible experience. Trains were late, often cancelled, incredibly dirty and always crowded. Britain's problems with public services - trains, schools and the NHS - will never be solved as long a people debate them as party political issues. The problem with all of Britain's public services is not political ideology and not funding, but people management. Any British person that I know who visits the US is always amazed to encounter service personnel who are actually eager and enthusiastic about doing a good job. It's a concept that seems to be completely lacking in the UK. How can the UK have some of the best companies in the world and some of the worst public services? Doesn't anyone get the point?
Jon Livesey, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
My train fares are going up by �4 a week! All this extra money...where is it going? Do I get a seat? Do I get my train on time - no on both counts but I am expected to cough up an extra �832 a year for the lowering level of service. What value! I'm so glad that the "competition" on our railways is working so well - please, my train company owns 5 others.
George, Grays, Essex
A visit to Switzerland to see how they run their railways would be a good starting point. Or Austria, Germany, France, Japan, Sweden.
Bryan, Edinburgh, UK
Not if it is allowed to fall into an administrative black hole like so much public money. When will people realise that the government actually has no money? It actually is ours removed from our pockets by taxation and too often dumped down a drain with no benefit to the tax payer
Ray Sheldon, Dudley, UK
Why do we try to keep this hopeless system going? Travel by rail is a solution to a problem that has been overtaken by events. It is expensive, inflexible and inconvenient. To save money and improve mass transport we should rip up the tracks and lay tarmac upon which we should run a fleet of hydrogen-powered buses. Problem solved.
Andy, Manchester, England.
Remember the golden age of steam? That was in the 1920s and 30s when the private sector owned, maintained and ran an expanding railway service. State ownership from 1945 onwards stifled investment and destroyed our railways.
John Moss, London UK
For every penny of public money spent on the railways the government should be given back an equivalent share of the ownership of the network in return. That way we'll have a renationalised industry in no time. I have no problems as a taxpayer in funding this worthy cause, as long as I get a share of the returns.
James Pittman, England
Witness another abject failure of Labour government so-called "reform". All we have now is a bigger white elephant than we had before. The Conservatives got it wrong when they privatised the railways and Labour have done nothing except add to the misery and the cost.
Edwin Thornber, UK and Romania
Never mind the passengers. It'll mean bigger Christmas bonuses for the bosses.
Dennis Edwards, United Kingdom
 |  The money will only be well spent if real railwaymen are in charge  |
The money will only be well spent if real railwaymen are in charge. These are a dying breed since privatisation commenced. Decisions about logistics and maintenance should not be in the hands those who really understand railways and railway safety, not in the hands of profiteers and accountants.
Vince, Coventry UK The correct answer is...No. A typical case of too many chiefs (incompetent ones at that) and not enough Indians.
Stephen, Wales
Of course it'll work; we'll spend a total of over �40bn (add it up for the past few years) and we'll get a system that will be something approaching the 1970s French system. Of course it'll be far more expensive to use, horribly crowded, dirty and have a whole new set of definitions for words and phrases like "reliable" and "on time".
Steve, UK
People don't want to use public transport any more than they want to live in dormitories in community hostels. Whether the state force them to or not, nothing can change that.
Steve, UK
If I have a meeting in London and travel by train I have to leave my house at 0615 to guarantee being in the office by 0900. Couple this with being on a train which is dirty & Packed, with not much space on the seats (if you can get one) for people carrying briefcases, bags etc and an extortionate fair considering the distance. To do the same journey by car (even with M25 rush hour traffic) I can leave the house at 0730 giving me a lie in. I'm guaranteed a seat, I can play music on the stereo & I'm warm & dry from start to finish of my journey. Oh, and it's cheaper. With this in mind, network rail have their work cut out for them in order to tempt me onto trains on a regular basis.
Ben, England
What the UK Rail Network and train system needs is for the Swiss to be put in charge of its regeneration and routine management. Then, clean efficient safe well staffed trains would run punctually on a safe well maintained rail network whatever the circumstances and weather. Including Leaves on the Line.
Sian Morgan, UK
Hopefully it should make the stations more staffed, so I don't get FINED and lectured when I cant buy a ticket before-hand.
DS, UK
Scrap the railways. Tarmac the lines and put in toll roads. Change stations into car parks, build more local airports for the longer journey and move transport system 50 years on. Stop spending my tax money trying to persuade me to go on a crowded train or in a small car.
Mike, UK
Railtrack was forced into extinction for making exactly the same financial demands as network rail. Doesn't this prove what a farce the whole thing has become? My concern that the drive towards efficiency and timeliness will mean that focus will stray away from safety.
Martin Curtis, England
Why do people still cling to 19th Century technology. Nobody chooses to use public transport - it is either all they can afford or the lesser of many evils. Give the public what they want and that is personal private transport door to door. Let's concentrate on making cars better. It's what the majority want - that's the way democracies work.
Craig, UK
Tie the funding to big fines for the executives if they fail to deliver and I think we might see some improvement.
Steve B, Edinburgh
| I drive everywhere now, as it is impossible to get to work on time using the trains |
The railways should never have been privatised. You used to be able to get almost anywhere by train, but all the local railway lines were closed. I drive everywhere now, as it is impossible to get to work on time using the trains. No amount of money they throw at the railways will improve the service because all they seem to know how to do is waste it.
Natalie, UK So how much of this will actually end up being used on the railways and how much will end up in shareholders and MD's pockets? This is absurd, why is it a private industry when so much public money is put into it, this is just another example of how incompetent the people running the country are. Labour/Conservative/Liberal it doesn't actually matter, all your voting for is which party will make moronic decisions for four years at a time.
Simon Rerrie, Birmingham, UK
Maybe the money that is paid out to shareholders could be used to benefit the many, and not just the few. Reallocating this money (our money) would reduce the �22.2bn a bit. This is a national network that should benefit all and not just a few.
Rob, Northampton UK
Hmmm, so our taxes go to these overpriced, under-achieving companies (or more accurately their directors salaries) while we continue to pay over the top prices for their services? How difficult can it be to sort the rail system out and why is it costing so much money? We're talking trains on a track going from point A to point B. It's not rocket science!
Rich, UK
Travelling by rail is unreliable, uncomfortable and expensive. Money is constantly being thrown at the problem and we are promised better service and better prices, yet we never see any change. I'm not sure that Nationalisation is the answer, but I agree that one controlling body for the entire network would be a vast improvement.
Matthew Lowe, Aberystwyth, UK
Of course it won't. No amount of money will improve the dire rail network be it workmen chopping through their own cables to signalling problems, to not enough trains running and those that do run and so overcrowded and dirty they are a disgrace. I had the pleasure this morning of sitting in a vomit smelling carriage, lovely when the heating is on.
Emma Watson, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Will Labour run prime-time TV adverts, so we can be reminded of how generous they are? Or does that only happen when they dream up a new tax credit or unemployment benefit?
James, UK
Of course it won't improve services. The problem with the rail network is that it's grossly over funded and under managed. Scrap all hand-outs and tax concessions and subsidies. Rail should pay its way just like private transport. And don't tell me the car gats a tax subsidy last time I checked the tax rate on petrol was around 600% and no you didn't read that wrong.
David price, UK
No it won't they have been working on it for years they might as well just build new tracks in fact it would probably be cheaper!
Freddie, Sheffield, England
| Use the money to subsidise buses and add far more bus lanes |
I stay just outside Edinburgh, mostly well served by buses. The bus picks me up about 200yards from my house and drops me within 200yards of work. The buses are every 20-25 minutes and the journey is 30-40 minutes costing �45/month. Although the rail journey is only 10 minutes, the station is 25 minutes walk away from home and 10 minutes from work, the cost is nearly double and you need an abacus to work out which trains stop at both your work and home station. With the ever-expanding housing estates on green-field sites, trains never can and never will be the answer to transport problems. Use the money to subsidise buses and add far more bus lanes (especially out to the Forth Bridge!).
Steve, Scotland I hope so, I don't travel to work via train but I did have the pleasure of using our wonderful public transport on Saturday night. In the last month or so the government and the police have been saying 'take the safe route home', 'don't get into unregistered taxi's'. Well the majority of us are doing what we can. But when are the government going to help out? The tubes stopped at 12:25am and the trains stopped at 1:05am. We have a 24 hour city and a 12 hour public transport!
Jenna Phillips, Surrey, England
Of course it will. We complain about lack of investment and at last something is being done about it. One of the reasons I am now in HK is the terrible commute into London.
Peter, Hong Kong
Instead of giving out grants to the privatised rail companies the government should buy shares in the rail companies. It will have one of two effects.
1) The privatised companies sort themselves out and manage to run a decent service. Or
2) We eventually end up with a renationalised industry.
Steve, UK
Give the railways the same beneficial tax regime that airlines are allowed. Double taxes on cars and flights. Reverse all the Beeching cuts from years back, reopen lines and stations and give us a rail network to be proud of.
Andrew, London, UK
This is one of the longest gravy trains the Blairites have dreamed up- giving billions of pounds of our money to private companies and allowing them to keep the profits!
David Russell, Glasgow, Scotland
It seems that the solution is pretty obvious. Build more lines! That's what the French TGV lines are about. High speed was a convenient secondary benefit to more capacity.
Chris Hillcoat, Reading, UK
How come with a budget-deficit of almost double this amount that the Government is once again pouring money down this black-hole? The only people who will really benefit from these billions are the directors and CEOs of the rail companies who will, one way or the other, manage to have themselves awarded huge salaries and bonuses as a reward for getting their pals in Government to waste yet MORE taxpayer-money on a service that less and less people are able to afford using.
Ian, Brit in USA
| I would go back to train travel. I can't see the point of being tortured when I can travel in comfort more cheaply |
I travelled to London from Basildon for 3 months and couldn't bear the overcrowding. Often 5 to 7 people would stand between the legs of 10 seated passengers in a compartment. It was so horrible that I changed to travelling by car even though the roadwork's on the A13 often doubled my travelling time. If the trains were punctual, less crowded, less expensive and cleaner, I would go back to train travel. I can't see the point of being tortured when I can travel in comfort more cheaply.
Mobass, LondonBritish Rail has been like a cake that John Major cut into slices and fed to hungry capitalists. There were sixteen proposed stations in Leeds. Four were built (Cottingley, Bramley, East Garforth & Burley Park) shortly after these opened it was privatised and no more has opened since. At the moment it is confusingly half-nationalised and half-privatised. France's railways aren't great either in a two train trip from Saumer to Paris it cost me nearly �200 which is ridiculous. Its actually cheaper travel per mile over here!
Michael Taylor, England
In a word "No".
Our infrastructure is too old. And we don't want to build a new railway line. Lets have a ten year plan to build and British bullet train or a British TGV. Then we can see something for our money.
Scott Wallace, UK/Japan
Where is most of the investment going? Into two grandiose schemes, the west coast main line upgrade and the Chunnel link. The rest of the system is being starved.
Brian W, Chelmsford
In the past three weeks I have travelled on Central Trains three times from Nottingham to Peterborough, returning each time on the same day I travelled. All trains were on time at both stations, the staff were pleasant, welcoming and informative and the coffee was good! I just wish I had a train station nearer so I could use it more often, but I have Dr Beeching to thank for that!
Catherine, Nottingham, UK
I find it hard to believe that Arthur's car ever leaves his drive. Surely insurance and road tax alone should take up most of the �43 per month not to forget maintenance and depreciation and, oh yes, petrol.
Duncan, UK
I returned to live in UK 3 years ago. Being in Surrey, my wife and I thought we could do without a car. Train to work, two stops is �97 per month, and very unreliable. We bought a car, annual costs are �43 per month. I have listened to promises and more promises from South-West trains for two years about improving service, the result is, we are buying a second car, cheaper, quicker and more reliable. I cannot understand how the government expects people to use such a poor, expensive and unreliable service.
Arthur, UK
Nationalise the damn railway and transport system and make it NOT FOR PROFIT organisation run by House of Lords and not House of Commons cronies.
Harish Shah, Croydon UK
| Internal flights in such a small place as Britain (about the size of Oregon) are outrageous |
Many here complain that they have to pay for something they never use because it is slow and uncomfortable. Those people forget that with investment trains really can be flexible, comfortable and fast. What shocks me when visiting the UK is the number of internal flights being set up and advertised. Thousands of people fly from Manchester to London every day, while with a true high-speed rail line such as exists or is being built in all continental European countries; this could be done in one hour and 30 minutes, city-centre to city-centre, without the waiting. Internal flights in such a small place as Britain (about the size of Oregon) are outrageous.
Peter, Amsterdam, Netherlands No it needs a complete overhaul to think of a national railway. The current system is still mired in the old LNER, LMS, GMR and SR regions. Everything is focused around London and travelling north to south - try travelling across the country to find how hard it is!
As to those like James Clarke who try and blame everything on the Conservatives. Wake up and take off those rose-tinted specs. BR was an unreliable pile of rubbish as well. If it's a rotting corpse, the corpse was created 60 years or more ago.
John, UK
Dominic of Bath: Why am I selfish to resent my taxes paying for rail transport when my nearest main line station is nearly 40 miles away? Surely we should not be expected to pay for something which is irrelevant to our way of life?
Andy, Fleetwood
The Railways are a natural monopoly and should be re-nationalised. A nationalised service can then provide rail links on less economical routes, where the current 'for profit' companies are obviously cutting back. Then investment needs to be made to make it cheaper to travel by train than, say, 2 people in a car, and even more incentives to get freight off the roads. Hopefully, the reduced road traffic will recoup some funds from not having to build and resurface so many roads. Finally, even more investment is required to make the worlds first rail network one of the worlds best!
Andy GM Wood, UK (London)
| Far too much time and money is being wasted on consultants, lawyers, and a multitude of other pen pushers |
It's not just other Europeans we compare badly with; the Victorians were a thousand times better than the clowns in charge today. It's just shameful that it should take 13 years to build a proper link to the Channel Tunnel. The entire M1 motorway was built in far less time than this and Isambard Kingdom Brunel must be turning in his grave. Far too much time and money is being wasted on consultants, lawyers, and a multitude of other pen pushers.
Jaydee, Hull, England It's time to scrap almost the entire network and rebuild from the ground up and send the bill to the Conservatives. British Rail was far, far better alive and kicking than it is now, a rotting corpse with vultures all over it picking at the remains.
James Clarke, UK
Trains are now used 50% more than five years ago, so they must be doing something right. If the new funds are well spent, this number will continue to rise. So, in fact, the biggest problem in 10 years time might be overcrowding. Should we not, therefore, divert some of this cash into building more rolling stock or extending the length of existing trains?
Chris Huntingford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Could it be that the overly negative view people have of the railway network in the UK is at least in part due to the fact that its role is to carry a large number of people to somewhere they don't want to go at a time they don't want to travel?
Ian Bartlett, Chesham, UK
It was the very policy of believing roads were the answer to all our transport problems that we got in the mess we are in today. Whereas the Europeans invested, we believed all the answers were in road transport. Rail has a very large market share (over 50% in some cases) of key inter-city journeys. You can get far more freight tonnage and passenger mileage down a two track railway, compared to a similar road, at speeds in some cases of up to 186mph. Many town economies rely on good, fast railways.
Rob T, Peterborough
| A small proportion of the money will be applied to the actual rail network |
As a motorist, I would welcome any changes to the rail network that would remove vehicles from the roads. However we have all heard this sort of thing before, and there is no denying it. A small proportion of the money will be applied to the actual rail network, and the rest will end up in the pockets of fat-cat contract directors, and other senior management.
Andy, UK More money will improve the railways, but I am sure a great deal of the money is spent on providing contingency arrangements for travellers affected by engineering work. Perhaps we need a short sharp shock and get as much done in one fell swoop rather than weekend works that stretch for years.
Brendan Sheehy, London
Yet again I'm astounded by the selfishness shown on this site! "Why should I pay for railways I don't use with my taxes?" people ask. Well, why should I pay for the roads I don't use? I never use motorways - let's put tolls on those and the people who use them. At least I choose a sustainable form of transport that doesn't pollute and destroy our countryside.
Dominic Tristram, Bath
A friend of mine's mother-in-law recently visited London for the first time. She is Brazilian. At London Bridge station she thought that she was at a railway museum....
Rob, London
As a student and regular train-traveller I have had mixed experiences of the rail network. It seems that on the whole the problems that exist will not be easily solved by a larger budget. They will be solved by measures such as providing less first class travel on busy services (it is mortifying to have to stand crushed in a vestibule when you can see an entire empty carriage). Far from losing the train companies money this would surely increase the number of tickets available for sale, as most travellers object to having to pay their fare again for the 'luxury' of a seat.
Lucy Rae, Birmingham, West Mids. This should not degenerate into the usual "Tories did this, Labour did that" nonsense. The bottom line is that consecutive governments have neglected the railways for decades and the price is only now being paid. If the current opposition were in government, they'd have to deal with the same problem
Large, UK
Throwing huge piles of money at unreformed public services does not work. The 'not for profit' company called Network Rail is a public service in all but name. I am sceptical in the extreme.
Chris, Herts, UK
Imagine if the UK government decided that over a period of 5 years to close 40% of the motorway network, there would be uproar and absolute chaos. Yet that is what happened to our railways in the 1960's. Improvements will not work unless there is more track space, and many of the lines that were closed would have provided the space and infrastructure. Rebuilding Birmingham New Street Station, a project that has been cancelled due to this �22 billion not being enough, would be a start.
Liam, Worcester, UK
Much was made about how the public sector failed us in order to bring in private interest. There should be no gifts to the private sector. If we need this service then we should own it once again. Efficiency can be applied to public sector as easily as the private.
Graham, UK
They must have spent a fortune on my line, Reading to Waterloo. We now have new nice trains. On the bad side I have not noticed any increase in punctuality, number or trains or a decrease in congestion. I suppose you can say we are still late and congested but travelling in style. As far as I am concerned a new train is less important than a reliable and frequent service.
Cesar Izzat, Crowthrone, UK
| I'm afraid that the British rail system has been run into the ground so much that it will take decades to bring it up to European standard |
I just came back from Germany and travelled the 150 km from Frankfurt Airport to Cologne in 45 minutes using a train going up to 270 km/hr. It cost us 100 Euros (approx � 70) for the two of us, one way, bought on the same day with a flexible ticket. I would not even dream to use a car. In contrast, I just booked a business trip to London next week, I take the prime of the fleet, the uncomfortable, noisy and sometimes utterly filthy GNER train from Leeds to London at peak time and I have to pay �136.
I'm afraid that the British rail system has been run into the ground so much that it will take decades to bring it up to European standard. Well, I guess this is why the German economy is struggling. The standard of living and is too high and the infrastructure is too good. People appear to be more important than shareholder's value. The example shows that privatisation improves public services is a lie, it only generates short-term profit for the government and for the shareholders. And the rest of us have to fight for themselves in expensive, dirty, overcrowded trains. I am angry.
Conny, Leeds, UK If the train service was overhauled, it could be run cheaply enough to make travelling by train economically viable. Make the system usable and people will use it, but while it costs �60 to get from Kent to Oxford, even renting a car makes better sense.
Max, Oxford
No. Unless the investment is solidly backed by a concrete strategy, it would be a waste of public funds.
Ronald Elly Wanda, England
I am concerned that giving all this money to the railways will create a two-tier system of transport. It is unfair to people who do not use the railways.
Tim T, Coventry, England
The rail service in this country will never improve so long as the rail unions are controlled by the extreme left, as they do not see an efficient rail service as central to their socialist agenda. The record levels of car ownership in the country show what most people think of travelling by train. It is an activity to be avoided.
Paul T Horgan, Bracknell UK
Throwing money at problems doesn't appear to work. Especially as it's the same managers and company structure as before. The only people who will be better off will be the army of paper-pushers reporting that railways are going downhill because of the cost of so many paper-pushers!
Martin, England
| It will take this sort of investment for 25 years to repair the damage done to the network by two decades of lack of investment (thanks to Margaret Thatcher) and the absurd privatisation. |
It will take this sort of investment for 25 years to repair the damage done to the network by two decades of lack of investment (thanks to Margaret Thatcher) and the absurd privatisation. Sadly the jobs lost in the workshops that used to make trains will never come back and all this investment will benefit workers in Frankfurt rather than Swindon.
Kevin Connell, UK I think the time has come to admit that the train system of travel has had it's day. The whole model is outdated and no longer fully workable in this country. It's time to resort to more roads and abandon rail.
Tony, Leeds UK
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that privatisation meant public money wasn't used. What is the point in privatising something if it is still going to be funded by the public purse. SOMEONE IS HAVING A LAUGH!
David Raby, Inverness
I don't own a car so I frequently use public transport. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what all this complaining is about. Transport provision has taken great strides over the last few years, especially in rural areas. Sure, it's still far from perfect - Germany has much to teach us about providing prompt and efficient services, but I believe with continued investment things are sure to get better over time.
Phil Lendon, Tewkesbury, England
I suffer with Arriva in the north - I cannot imagine any improvements with the services we receive as 99% of the problems we face are self inflicted due to gross mis-management of the local licenses.
Richard Hammond, Leeds
This money should be spent on ripping up all the tracks and laying tarmac - thus giving the country thousands of miles of extra roads at a stroke - for commuters who do not have cars, shuttle bus services should be run to replace the trains -also these new roads could be operated on a toll basis.
Richard Proudfoot, Cheshire
This is enough money to buy everyone in the country a new small car and sort out the road network. I know which I'd choose.
Phil, UK
I took a journey from Sheffield to Swindon last night, which took me just over 2 hours and cost �35.00. No complaints about the service - all changes seemed to coincide well. Only thing is, I had to get a lift to and from each station, and with bus travel as it is, would have added at least a further hour. I drove back (door to door) in about 2 hours, and for about �15. I don't necessarily think that the trains are sooo bad, but the buses to get you to the station are awful. Mind you, I don't commute on the trains every day!
Sandra, UK
The reason the French etc have way better railways than us is purely because so much money is spent on them. If you own a car I don't know why you would even consider using the trains when they take considerably longer and cost more.
Noel, London, UK
Tom Windsor is making good, if hard, decisions and he should get praise for that. Why can't we use our ever-growing prison population to do some of the tidying up of graffiti, rubbish etc that drags the system down?
Andrew, Cambridge
Why give the railways even more money - they are starting to invest it abroad - just look at the imminent move of National Rail Enquiries to India. Our taxpayers money should be restricted to being used in this country. If they need the extra investment, and I'm sure they do, make it a law that it CANNOT be invested overseas at the expense of British jobs.
Andrew, Bridgend, Wales
It's the same old thing that people keep forgetting. Price is an indicator of quality. We need to pay more taxes to enjoy ever aspect of the services we expect from our Government.
Richard Toulson, Dumfries
Richard Branson runs one of the worst performing train companies (Virgin Cross Country). Putting him in charge of more of the railway would be madness.
Robert McPheat, oxford
I doubt it
Anon, UK
�22.2bn for less than 10% of the UK passenger-miles covered. What a scandalous waste of my money.
Phil, Peterborough, UK
No railway can be economically successful unless more than half its traffic is freight. We should not have allowed the profiteering road transport lobby to have their own way. We have been the losers, and the payers, in money and in roads clogged by lorries.
SCH Smith, UK
It is an absolute scandal that every family in the UK will have to pay �1000 in extra tax for a rail system that very few people use.
Phil Hoy, Swindon, UK
They'll just use it to line the pockets of the fat cats and shareholders.
Bill, UK
Although there is some element of catch-up here, even if it was not there would be calls for upgrades so this is the real cost of running the network. To calls to close it down - what would be the implications of putting all those passengers on the roads in car or bus, especially at peak times?. This is just part of the social cost of running the railway - road passengers and the environment in general benefit from this so it is only right that tax payers pick up a large part of the bill (train fares aren't exactly cheap!)
Chris Fribbins, Rochester, Kent
The national pastime of only talking about the bad aspects of the railways rears it head yet again. We have seen many new trains come into service, new safety technology installed, many derelict train stations restored and the new high-speed rail link in Kent. However how much coverage do these get in the press? I do however have a issue with this amount of investment when Network Rail is considering removing freight from the railways.
Dave Bedwell, Haywards Heath UK What people forget is that when the Tories sold off the railways, they had been under-funded for years and were in no fit state to be privatised. It's right that the state should bail out a mess of its own making.
J Davison, Berkshire, UK
Why is Labours answer just to burden us with more taxes and then just throw our hard earned money at problems without trying to fix the root cause first. The railway system is so complex with everyone's hand out for a cut of the money that this will go nowhere except in directors pay rises and bonuses. Its a complete waste of money.
Duncan, Salisbury, UK
Easyjet and Ryanair would never have emerged in air transport industry fuelled by public funds. That is the lesson for rail. We never really gave privatised rail a chance.
Mike, UK
I wonder what the percentage of people who use the railroads is. Every single person in the country gets use form the roads in one way or another, how much is spent on them a year? This is a waste of money, it will bring no great improvements until accountability exists.
Sam Gibson, Aberdeen, UK
They would be better making the operators give free travel to all of the passengers if the train is more than 15 minutes late, I'm pretty sure the operators would get them on time then.
Jamie Ferguson, Scotland
| Put our friend Richard Branson in charge. He has already offered time and time and time again to fully pay for the replacement of the west coast main line. |
Put our friend Richard Branson in charge. He has already offered time and time and time again to fully pay for the replacement of the west coast main line. He is capable of doing this and he has not got his head in a place where perhaps there is a lack of sunshine. Real solutions for real problems.
Paul, England For all the money they have ploughed into it over the last 5 years there are still serious short falls in service. Money cannot help change a badly run, badly managed and overly congested system. This country is well on it's way to grid lock and every aspect of transport is showing the signs of it.
Russ, Warwick, UK
Railtrack were put into administration for asking for one tenth of this amount of money - how is this value for money to the tax payer? Many of the train users in London have high incomes, most tax payers do not. Why do we need to subsidise these high earners from general tax payers - sounds very regressive to me. May be a lot of the media buy season tickets?
Michael, St Albans
I think it will make a difference, but only where it is noticeable by passengers - otherwise it would just be a waste of time. Such schemes as replacing single track with double track will be noticeable in the long term. But like all good things, it won't happen overnight, so people will need to be patient (which I know is difficult for some people) - good things come to those who wait.
Lee Bumstead, Farnborough, UK
| Are they privatised or aren't they? Why am I paying for expensive rail tickets and still having to pay again through taxes? The whole mess of privatising rail has been a farce. |
Are they privatised or aren't they? Why am I paying for expensive rail tickets and still having to pay again through taxes? The whole mess of privatising rail has been a farce.
MBB, UK Our rail network is dying. For goodness sake, someone should do the kindest thing. Let's turn off its life support machine and let it slip away with what remains of its dignity.
Patrick V. Staton, Guildford, UK
How much more public money does the rail industry need? Throwing money at the problem does not always solve it - when will the government learn this?
Vinay Sethi, Runcorn, UK
If this money does not make an improvement to services then heads should roll and the British people should demand an explanation as to where it went or go on strike and refuse to use the trains. But we won't do that because it wouldn't be British. We will just tut and carry on as we do every other day.
John, Bournemouth
How much of this will be paid as bonuses to directors for bringing in the extra cash? My guess is quite a lot.
Andrew Kelly, Glasgow, UK
| I seem to remember that Railtrack were looking to receive similar sums for upgrading and maintaining the network, but our government experts saw this as too expensive and not in the public interest. What exactly has changed? |
I seem to remember that Railtrack were looking to receive similar sums for upgrading and maintaining the network, but our government experts saw this as too expensive and not in the public interest. What exactly has changed?
Andy, Upminster Essex OK, it's privatised and then its back in the public spend again? Of course, the MP's don't have a vested interest in this, do they? I'm sorry but this stinks! More public money being squandered!
Ahmed, London, UK
My Gran always said you should never throw good money in after bad! Surely it's about time Network Rail took individual responsibility and stopped relying on the taxpayer to fund their inadequate service. I, like most commuters, am still standing waiting for the ever-elusive punctual, reliable train that is arriving, I may as well be waiting for the Hogwarts express.
Andy, London
No, like all the public services, it is a money pit. Until there is some connection between the workers and their performance, we may as well burn the money or spend it on cars. Hand network rail over to the Unions, lock stock and barrel and let them run it as a co-operative. Although when I made that suggestion to a Union man some time ago, he didn't want to know!
John, Bristol UK
| �22.2 billion is a staggering sum in anyone's estimation, and speaks volumes for how far the state of the railways has been allowed to decline. We're clearly in for years of misery until such time as the work has been completed. |
�22.2 billion is a staggering sum in anyone's estimation, and speaks volumes for how far the state of the railways has been allowed to decline. We're clearly in for years of misery until such time as the work has been completed, but even then you wonder whether the system will be able to deliver an efficient and modern service like the French and Germans manage. I suspect it's a matter of policy as much as repair.
Andy Millward, UK I use the train. It's fine. What's the problem exactly? I also use buses in London. They're fine too.
Heidi, UK
Not without taking the train operating companies back in to Public Ownership - the inter-city companies could be owned nationally; and the regional companies could be given to consortia of local councils, or to the new regional bodies. Public transport fares need to come down too - at present it is often cheaper to drive than it is to use Public Transport!
Peter Judge, W. Yorks
Might as well put �22.2bn in a large metal dustbin and then throw a match in
Tony King, UK
The extra cash is welcome, but also highlights the failure of rail privatisation in this country. The fact that the taxpayer continues to subsidise Network Rail at a time when train operating companies are profiting from poor levels of service is unacceptable.
Richard, London, England
| Like a train, this cash is long overdue. Public confidence needs to be restored in our railways and ploughing cash in is only part of the solution. |
Like a train, this cash is long overdue. Public confidence needs to be restored in our railways and ploughing cash in is only part of the solution. Better management, longer trains at peak times (such as Glasgow-Edinburgh, Skipton-Leeds) will bring back users and a simplified ticket system might help.
Frank, Scotland
I, for one, will not hold my breath with regards to this!
Julia, Wales, UK
For as long as the train companies operate a monopoly and can get away with any level of disruption with a mechanical voice announcing "I am very sorry for the delay to your journey" nothing will ever improve. As the quality of service diminishes our fares steadily rise. Perhaps if delays drop below a certain trigger point the bosses of the train firms were automatically fired without compensation - now that would make a difference. Also force politicians and train bosses to use the trains instead of their chauffeur-driven cars.
John B, UK
So having forced Railtrack into liquidation by refusing to give them any more money, the Government gives it's replacement even more! The mind boggles!
Andy Davies, UK
| The money wasted over the past twenty years on the rail network could have been used to build a completely new system and it's now clear that it's a new system which is required, not more patching up. |
The money wasted over the past twenty years on the rail network could have been used to build a completely new system and it's now clear that it's a new system which is required, not more patching up. The latest funds will no doubt be whittled away on upgrading tracks over which trains will roll at half their design speed because signals aren't up to standard, tilt mechanisms don't work properly or sections of track or bridges are unsafe at high speeds.
John M, Lyne Meads, UK
I have a train operator who doesn't care about its passengers. Extra money is not creating extra seats and carriages. I spend 4 hours a day on a round trip of 56 miles by train and I have to stand. Railtrack was put out of business and it would be good for the Government to at least deliver on one promise made years ago and bring back the rail into public hands otherwise it will never improve with the 'profit first' attitude of these lazy rail operators.
George, Grays, UK
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