Action group to aid rail recovery

Passengers' patience is reaching the end of the line

An action group set up by the government to oversee efforts to restore normal rail services as quickly as possible is meeting for the first time on Friday.

Transport minister Lord MacDonald will lead the Rail Recovery Action Group, unveiled after Prime Minister Tony Blair signalled his irritation with the pace of safety checks.

The prime minister wants all the safety check programmes set up in the wake of the Hatfield crash to be finished before Christmas, his spokesman said.

Earlier on Thursday it was revealed that thousands of travellers were deserting rail to make domestic journeys by air.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott launching the action group, said: "Railtrack, the train operators and government have got to work together to tackle this.

Airlines have profited from the chaos

"That is why I have asked Gus MacDonald to head up a special rail action group to maintain regular contact with the industry and ensure they are totally focused on the issue day to day."

All the major players in the British rail industry will be represented on the body.

They are Railtrack, the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), the Rail Passenger Council, the Health and Safety Executive, the Office of the Rail Regulator and the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority.

The action group will seek to resume normal rail services as quickly as possible by troubleshooting any outstanding problems which might still arise.

Two weeks ago Atoc representatives agreed to begin providing reliable timetables especially in the run up to Christmas, the busiest time of year.

But meanwhile, domestic airlines have benefited from an unexpected boost.

British Airways, Ryanair and British Midland have all reported huge increases in domestic travellers in recent weeks, with particularly high rises on London to the north of England and Scotland services.