Misery for millions as leaked Network Rail report predicts more train cancellations and delays

Exclusive: Internal report seen by The Independent reveals pitiful state of our national train service

Britain’s teetering railways face more delays and cancellations because there is not enough money to maintain them, Network Rail has privately admitted.

A leaked presentation obtained by The Independent says that the government’s funding plans for the next five years will not allow Network Rail to “operate, maintain and renew” the railway at its current level of reliability.

The slides, intended for rail industry bosses and marked “official-sensitive-commercial”, warn that delays caused by crumbling infrastructure – such as tracks, bridges and earthworks – are expected to worsen amid rising costs and inadequate funding.