Record train travel despite setbacks

THE number of people travelling by train has hit a record high - just as Railtrack has gone into administration and passengers are suffering more delays than ever.

About 81m journeys were made in the four weeks to 7 December, according to figures from the Association of Train Operating Companies to be published in the coming month. The total is the highest since passenger numbers were first compiled in 1946.

A spokesman for the association said: 'These figures show that people obviously want to travel on rail, and that is encouraging. But I can't explain why more people want to travel when the service is poor.'

Train operating companies were recently fined a record £136m by the rail regulator for poor performance. A year earlier, the companies were fined £17.8m.

The Department of Transport said: 'We acknowledge that the rail service is not up to par. The department is committed to a £60bn investment programme for the railways in the next 10 years.'