Government not giving Network Rail the investment it needs, says ACE

The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has slammed rail regulators for giving Network Rail less spending money than it asked for.

The body said the decision was 鈥渄eeply worrying鈥 and pledged to campaign for the funding figure to be raised.

Last week, the Office of Rail Regulation ruled that Network Rail would have a total budget of 拢28.5bn for the five years from next April - some 拢2.4bn less than was demanded.

The rail sector doesn't need lip service, it needs sustained investment

Nelson Ogunshakin

ACE chief executive Nelson Ogunshakin said the decision undermined recent 鈥減ositive noises鈥 from the government on investment in infrastructure.

He said: 鈥淎fter both the prime minister and the transport secretary appeared keen recently to make positive noises on funding of infrastructure, it now feels as if we've taken one step forward and two steps back in a short space of time.

鈥淭he rail sector doesn't need lip service, it needs sustained investment.鈥