Train operators are in line for further compensation payments because of the planned partial closure of the West Coast Main Line, the chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority has said.

Richard Bowker told the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme there would be contractual obligations to operators affected by the planned track upgrade.

During the next few months the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) would discuss with the operators how much compensation they were entitled to, he added.

But he stressed it would keep as much money as possible to invest in the network.

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains run intercity services between London and Scotland on the affected routes, as well as cross country services from places like Penzance and Bournemouth to Scotland.

The closure is aimed at speeding up the West Coast Main Line upgrade which should allow Virgin's tilting trains to run on the line at speeds of up to 125mph by the end of 2004.

The SRA believes that doing the work this way will cause less disruption long-term than repeated temporary closures.

'Get a grip'

It also believes the move will cut about �4bn from the final bill, bringing the total budget "south of �10bn," according to The Times newspaper.

But the authority has already been forced to pay Virgin more than �100m from the public purse, to compensate for delays.

There will be more delays during upgrades

Mr Bowker admitted the upgrade had been managed badly "since the point at which the project was conceived".

But he told Breakfast with Frost it was now time to "really get a grip" on it.

"This massive engineering programme will bring the West Coast line up to the standard, in terms of capacity and line speed, required of a 21st century high-speed rail link."

Commuters

The upgrade will shut down 40 miles of the line near Stoke-on-Trent.

It will close for 17 weeks from Colwich in Staffordshire to Cheadle Hulme, just south of Stockport, next summer.

This will be followed by a second 17-week closure early in 2004, from Crewe to Cheadle Hulme, near Manchester.

The line is already being closed every weekend for 18 weeks for a 25-mile stretch between Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead.

Commuters could face severe disruption with some journey times doubled and travellers having to transfer to buses at either Cheadle Hulme or Colwich.

But rail passenger groups believe a "short sharp" interruption to services caused by the upgrade will bring overall long-term benefits.

Anthony Smith from the Rail Passengers Council has said: "We just want to get the work done and get the new trains running."

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has said a major overhaul of the country's busiest line has been needed "for some 30 or 40 years", and the temporary inconvenience is necessary if the railways are to improve.