Britain’s road network is growing 15 times faster than the rail network, according to official figures which undermine the Government’s claim that it is helping people to switch from cars to trains.
On the eve of what ministers are hailing as their “green Budget”, statistics seen by The Times show that more than 405 miles of motorway and trunk road have opened since 1997 compared with just 27 miles of railway.
In five of the past eleven years, no track was added to the domestic rail network, and in the peak years for rail growth, in 2001 and 2002, the network grew by only six miles a year.
13:27, 11 Mar 2008
by Matthew Rees