The Government has accepted a devastating report from MPs on the state of Britain's railways but still insisted that train services were improving.

The report, from the House of Commons Transport Committee, savaged the current rail structure, with MPs saying the industry was "out of effective control".

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling responded by saying changes were on the way and the committee's report had ignored the fact that the "railway is improving".

Committee members were highly critical of both the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and Network Rail, saying both bodies should be scrapped and replaced by a public sector body called the Railway Agency.

The report laid in to the Rail Regulator Tom Winsor, the Health and Safety Executive and even the Rail Passengers Council.

But the committee added that the "fundamental failure of the railway is one of Government policy".

The report went on: "It (the Government) has had six years to construct a policy and structure for the railway that works well, but our report shows that is has failed to do so."

Fragmentation in the railways was getting worse, industry costs were increasing, performance remained "in the doldrums" and the SRA appeared "utterly incapable of managing significant improvements".

Friday April 02, 2004