Railways struggle on

By BBC transport reporter Tom Symonds

In recent months the rail industry has become used to startling disclosures and internal wrangling. Last week proved no different.

One evening the Strategic Rail Authority - the government body responsible for working out the future of the industry - suddenly made a surprise announcement about one of the country's most important rail routes - the East Coast Mainline between London and Edinburgh.

The SRA had been struggling to consider rival bids to take over the high speed trains using the line from Virgin Rail and GNER, which currently holds the franchise.

More train chaos in store for passengers

But the Authority decided it couldn't make a decision for now, because the franchise depended on an expensive plan to vastly improve the track and signalling on the line, and the potential bill for the work had shot up - possibly as high as £3.8bn.

It was a perfect illustration of the Catch 22 situation facing Britain's fractured, tortured railways.

Railtrack carries out the modernisation work, but the money comes from train companies. The train companies will invest but only if they own the franchise for the service.

The Strategic Rail Authority decides who runs the franchise and subsidises the service and improvement work, but it will only take the decision once it knows the price.

Railtrack sets the price but can't because it doesn't know what sort of improvements the SRA wants. The SRA doesn't know because it hasn't chosen a train company to run the service.

Strategic plan delayed

Furious Railtrack sources say the Authority, and its combative chairman Sir Alistair Morton, have failed to provide the kind of strategic leadership that would let everyone escape this predicament.

Sir Alistair has promised to produce a strategic plan for the whole country but it has been delayed - along with decisions on many train company franchises currently being renegotiated.

The Hatfield crash sent Railtrack's accounts into the red

The problem for Britain's railways, and the SRA in particular, is that the flaws in the structure of the industry have all come to the surface at the same time - because of flaws in railway lines at Hatfield.

The crash provoked a wide-ranging debate in the industry.

It made obvious the lack of emergency planning in the industry - item one for Sir Alistair Morton's intray.

Rail companies started losing money as passengers chose other ways of getting around - item two for Sir Alistair, who holds the industry's purse strings.

Cash flow problems

It sent Railtrack's accounts into the red as the cost of dealing with track problems and flooding grew sharply - item three in the SRA intray, because if Railtrack doesn't have money to invest, the nation's railways suffer.

All of this has made it difficult for the Authority to even begin considering the vexed question of how to improve a transport system relied on by millions every day.

Though the SRA's growing band of critics say all that's needed is a clear head, and clear vision of the future.

The SRA does have some ideas - Sir Alistair Morton wants to split Railtrack into two internal companies - one responsible for everyday maintenance, the other for the big projects that will enable better services.

But for now the industry is able to do little more than struggle on. And passengers are having to do what they always do. Wait.