The not-for-profit rail infrastructure group has asked the Office of Rail Regulation for an extra £7.9 billion of funds for the period from 2009 to 2014, on top of the £20.7 billion the company would need anyway.

The Conservatives attacked the request, saying that Network Rail should concentrate on cutting costs and delivering better value for money before demanding more investment.

Chris Grayling, Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “The rail network has already had billions of pounds extra from the taxpayer in the last few years. We need better value for the money we are already spending, and should not just carry on pouring cash into what is increasingly looking like a financial black hole.”

Network Rail argues that it should receive the extra funding because it has managed to reduce the costs of running the existing network by £4.2 billion. The group received £25billion in the current five-year control period, but says that it needs only £20.7 billion to carry on business as usual for five years from 2009.

However, it argues that there is a one-off opportunity to build several major projects, which would relieve overcrowding on the network.

John Armitt, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “The time has come to deal with the growing demands being placed on Britain’s rail network. We have seen remarkable growth over the past ten years, 40 per cent more passengers and 60 per cent more freight, and we are predicting similar increases, some 30 per cent, over the next ten years.”

About £3.5 billion of the extra £7.9 billion would go towards upgrading the Thameslink service from the South coast to Bedford. The Thameslink improvements, which have been delayed for more than six years, are the subject of a public inquiry due to report this summer. “This project is ready to go, is much further advanced than Crossrail and will cost a lot less for similar benefits,” a Network Rail spokesman said.

The Thameslink proposals would see the service increase from eight trains an hour to 24, with the number of stations on the route doubled. The north-south route from Bedford to Brighton would be extended, serving towns from Bedford to Guildford in the south west and Dartford in the south east.

There are also proposals to redevelop London’s Waterloo station and Birmingham’s New Street station, as well as upgrading freight lines between the North and South of England.

Network Rail’s submission to the Office of Rail Regulation is the first stage in a two-year discussion with the independent regulator and the Government over funding needs.

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