Minister: Network Rail has 'taken eye off the ball'
An official report has accused Network Rail of causing unnecessary delays for passengers.
The Office of Rail Regulation says the company in charge of tracks and signals is slipping behind on its maintenance and has not done enough to prepare for bad weather.
The Transport Minister, Norman Baker, acknowledged to Today programme presenter Justin Webb that mistakes had been made: "They're delivering the upgrades and the new infrastructure well.
"What they're not doing - they've taken their eye off the ball - is the day-to-day maintenance of the network which is leading to an increased number of over-runs on engineering works and unnecessary delays for passengers as a consequence of minor failures on the network."
First broadcast on the Today programme on Friday 13 September.
13 Sep 2013
- From the section UK