The smell of spicy lamb kofta kebabs and teriyaki salmon wafted from the barbeque on the terrace of the five-star Royal Horseguards Hotel in Westminster. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin told a crammed, not to mention hungry, audience: "Mark has an incredibly difficult job making all these improvements while also focusing on 4 million passengers a day." Standing by McLoughlin's side at this Rail Delivery Group event last week was Mark Carne, the chief executive at Network Rail - a man tasked with overseeing the repair and maintenance of Britain's largely Victorian railway at a time when passenger numbers are at their highest since the 1920s.
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