Network Rail announces multi-billion pound investment to improve efficiency and reliability of rail operations. Credit: Network Rail.

The UK’s Network Rail has unveiled plans to invest more than £42bn to upgrade trains, tracks and stations to boost reliability and improve rail performance.

The rail operator will work closely with train operating companies and make investment in all areas which matters most to passengers and freight users.

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Network Rail said that the funding will be provided over five years. The control period 6 (CP6) will begin on 1 April and continue until 2024.

Of the total £42bn, nearly £38bn has been allocated for England and Wales, while £4bn has been assigned for Scotland and will focus on operations, maintenance and the renewal of rail assets.

“Our role is to deliver a railway that people can rely on, with trains that turn up and arrive at their destination on time.”

The latest investment is part of the total government funding of £53bn, including £48bn for England and Wales from the Department for Transport, and £5bn from Transport Scotland.

Earlier this year, Network Rail accepted the final determination of Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

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Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: “Passengers and freight users are at the heart of our plans over the next five years.

“Our role is to deliver a railway that people can rely on, with trains that turn up and arrive at their destination on time, and where passengers have confidence they are in safe hands. This is what we must deliver daily and what we will, and should, be held to account for throughout CP6.

“Our plans for the next five years bring us much closer to train operating companies and local decision makers, they cut red tape and make it easier for others to work with us, and most importantly they put a real focus on the users of the railway.”

Meanwhile, Network Rail’s London-to-Carlisle region announced its £5.7bn plan to operate a reliable railway service over the five-year period beginning from 1 April.

The London North Western (LNW) region operates in West Midlands, North West, Chilterns, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria. It accounts for 24% of the country’s railway network.

Network Rail owns and operates railway infrastructure, including 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges and viaducts, as well as thousands of tunnels, signals, level crossings and points in England, Wales and Scotland.