Every autumn "leaves on the line", the phrase every commuter loves to hate, seems to arrive with more regularity than the trains, and this year Railtrack are warning passengers that things can only get worse.

The company says it's putting in place its biggest clean-up operation so far to combat the problem but that delays are inevitable because a wet April and May means a large leaf fall.

Railtrack says 1,000 trackside workers will spend their nights clearing leaves and that drivers are being told to drive defensively to prevent skidding.

'Success story'

But despite the warnings of autumn delays, Railtrack's chief executive, Gerald Corbettis, has said it is time to talk up the railways as a success story.

Mr Corbett called on the rail industry to break "the vicious circle of fear - fear of regulators, of missed targets, of fines and of bad press".

He said rail companies were perceived as being at war with each other - but the growth in business and investment should be the envy of every industry.