Capacity challenge for rail network

Improving long-distance train punctuality may not be possible without harming commuter services, Network Rail (NR) chief executive Sir David Higgins has told MPs.

He added there would need to be timetable changes in order to improve punctuality in Scotland.

NR is currently not meeting its 92% punctuality target for long-distance services and has to explain why to rail regulators.

Sir David told the House of Commons Transport Committee that there had been a huge growth in the number of trains being run on the network.

He added that as many as 12 different rail operators used the West Coast Main Line, with the line now so busy it had become "the M25 of railways".

He told the committee: "You could hit 92% on long-distance but you might have to regulate other services to achieve that. We have a real capacity challenge. It's complex. It's a trade-off, it's always a trade-off."

Sir David said driving up long-distance performance could come "at the expense of commuters". He said that he wanted a debate on the whole subject of trade-offs.

On Scottish services, Sir David told the MPs: "I don't think we can achieve the punctuality target with the current timetable." He said it would take about 12 months to modify the timetable.

Sir David said NR would strive to meet all its performance targets for the current five-year period ending in 2014. But he said if there were "one or two targets" where the trade-offs were too great then a debate would be needed.

Sir David and his fellow top directors are giving up their annual bonuses this year but are still in a management incentive scheme. Asked if management incentives were appropriate for NR, Sir David replied: "You want to attract to an organisation people who are ambitious, who take risks. I believe performance-based pay and bonuses are part of that."