Prescott: Rail delays up to Easter

Railtrack accused of disregarding passengers' interests

Rail services will not return to normal until Easter, the deputy prime minister has warned.

Railtrack has staggered from one crisis to another in recent years

Transport select committee

John Prescott told MPs that Railtrack's recovery programme could take months to complete.

He was speaking as a cross-party committee of MPs hammered the company for what they said was a systematic failure in its running of the rail network.

Mr Prescott, who was standing in for Tony Blair at prime minister's questions, said the huge backlog in repairs was down to a "massive disinvestment over decades".

'Who's in charge?'

Speaking of the seemingly endless delays and repairs prompted by the Hatfield crash, Mr Prescott stressed the problems facing the rail industry, with "something like over 300 miles and 600 crossover points" in need of repairs.

The government's response is impotent. There have been more summits and task forces in recent months than trains running on time

Michael Moore MP

Mr Prescott said that in January ministers would examine how far Railtrack had got in delivering its proposed recovery programme.

But he added: "They have said in the programme that it will possibly take us up to Easter time before they have completed the programme and [got] back to normal services."

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Alan Beith demanded: "While a lot of the chaos results from the fragmentation and the mess of the Tory privatisation ... since we can't have a date, can we know who is actually in charge?"

Failing passengers

Earlier on Tuesday, a report from the Commons transport select committee condemned Railtrack for losing sight of its responsibility and failing passengers.

"Railtrack has staggered from one crisis to another in recent years...because of systematic often-repeated failings in the management systems and leadership," it said.

The report also condemned the company's handling of the East Coast mainline, where the Hatfield crash killed four people.

Gwyneth Dunwoody: "Present situation in need of urgent change"

On the broader issue of safety, the committee identified a divergence between the company and the culture adopted by engineering companies hired to mend the railways.

Labour's Gwyneth Dunwoody, chairwoman of the committee, said: "Railtrack receives large amounts of public money, something between £5bn and £10bn a year. It's essential they are capable of spending it safely and getting results."

The report also identified the lack of direct experience of the rail industry among Railtrack executives, only one of whom any direct experience of working in engineering.

Trying our best - Railtrack

Ms Dunwoody said: "Railtrack's management has not performed well.

"Some of its management techniques in relation to maintenance are not acceptable and the general public will want to know what they are going to do about it."

Gerald Corbett's departure does not solve the problems

The committee said that despite the departure of the chief executive Gerald Corbett, not enough had been done to solve the problem.

In his evidence to the committee Mr Corbett, who stood down from the job last month, said Railtrack had lost touch with its core responsibility to run a safe and efficient railway.

Railtrack issued a statement in response to the criticisms, saying the current turmoil was a direct result of the inquiry into the Hatfield crash.

"We remain of the belief that the action taken was correct and the imposition of speed restrictions was in the interests of passenger safety while we assessed the implications of Hatfield," said the statement.

"Speed restrictions are making things difficult for our industry partners and for the travelling public.

"We will be working hard over Christmas and customers will see significant improvements by the end of January.

Commenting on the report for the Liberal Democrats, Michael Moore MP criticised the government's response as "impotent".

He said: "There have been more summits and taskforces in recent months than trains running on time."