The DfT's Rail Review should make everyone think what exactly the railways are there for. Clearly, costs have got out of control. We can debate who is to blame, but the important thing now is to consider what we want our railways to do and what can be done to slash costs - an urgent and necessary first step. Network Rail has made progress in reducing delays and cutting costs. There is much more to do on cutting the causes of costs by a comprehensive standards review. So what is left to save? The biggest element of cost is still the West Coast Main Line. NR costs may be down from ￡15bn to ￡9bn but if a few more billion could be saved, perhaps some could be spent more equitably across the network.
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