Devolved bodies in Wales, Scotland and London will get more power

He said the SRA was "an attempt to bring order" to a "disorderly" railway.

But Tory spokesman Tim Yeo said the government was simply "putting right one of its own blunders".

He said �250m of taxpayers' money had been wasted on something which turned out to have "no strategy, no railway and no authority".

Opening the second reading of the Railway Bill, Mr Darling insisted the SRA had done a good job sorting out some of the problems left over from the "disastrous" privatisation of the network.

Good future?

It was now the job of ministers to set the strategic direction of the railway network.

"Only the democratically elected government of the day can decide how much it is going to spend on the railways and roughly what their shape and size should be," he said.

Mr Darling said the Conservatives were pledged to cut �1.8bn from the transport budget.

"If that's their policy it's very difficult to see how on earth we could have an effective railway system," he said.

The minister said: "I believe the railways in this country have a very good future.

"Yes, there are problems to be overcome and reliability has to be improved. "But we now have the funding, we've got the management and the right organisation for the railways that can make sure they carry more people and more freight in the future."

Political interference?

But Mr Yeo said the bill meant politicians and bureacrats would get "far more say" in running the railways - the opposite, he argued, of what should be happening.

"The only hope for railways is if management is left to get on with providing the service that customers want without constant political interference," he said.

Lib Dem spokesman John Thurso said he welcomed the main principles of the bill to establish responsibility for regulation, operation and strategy.

Devolution

He also agreed there should be fewer rail franchises, though he argued they should get longer contracts to encourage companies to commit to greater investment in rolling stock.

The Railway Bill winds up the SRA and hands enhanced powers to the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and London.

The bill would also hand responsibility for safety from the Health and Safety Executive to the Office of the Rail Regulator.