Railtrack has set out plans improve and extend services in Scotland as part of a �52bn UK-wide strategy for the next decade.

The company, which builds and maintains the UK's rail infrastructure, plans to link Glasgow and Edinburgh airports and reduce the travelling time between the two cities.

A fifth of the �52bn has already been committed to the upgrading of the West Coast Main Line between Glasgow and London. Railtrack aims to reduce the trip to under four hours by 2006.

In the last year, �10m has been spent in Scotland on preparing five bridge structures for the track improvements.

Other projects include new work on the east coast line between Edinburgh and London, and the reinstatement of a rail link to the Borders and Carlisle.

Railtrack's 10-year spending plan is designed to cope with growing passenger numbers and the continuing decline of the network.

Janette Anderson, the company's Scottish director, said the next decade would see 20 million more passenger journeys and Railtrack hoped to remove 4,000 lorry movements from Scotland's roads.

She said the projects Railtrack wanted to see go ahead could become reality through a "partnership" approach with the government and key private sector funding bodies.

Three reviews

In the case of the airport links, Railtrack had already met Strathclyde Passenger Transport and the British Airports Authority to discuss investment.

"Doing nothing is not an option," she stated. "We have seen an unprecedented growth in railways in the last five years and we believe it's set to continue with 30% growth over the next 10 years."

However the annual Railtrack Network Management Statement, which contains the spending plans, comes as three separate industry reviews consider who will pay for the upgrades.

The Office of the Rail Regulator is assessing how much it will allow Railtrack to charge train operating companies to use its track.

A 10-year plan for public transport is being considered by the government.

And the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority is negotiating which companies will run the next set of rail franchises.

Ms Anderson said: "The rail sector is at a time of crossroads but I think in Scotland we have a major opportunity to take forward railways.

"In 2001, the Scottish Executive takes over the financial responsibility for railways in Scotland and I think the plans we have announced will be a key building block in that."

The Paddington rail disaster last year sparked calls for drastic action from Railtrack to improve the network.

Campaigners demanded more money be ploughed back into the rail infrastructure after it emerged Railtrack was making more than �1m-a-day, with pre-tax profits of �428m last year.