FRUSTRATED train passengers were given a glimmer of hope yesterday with a multi-billion pound investment plan for the crumbling rail network.

The Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA) £67bn ten-year plan could see an end to commuter misery with major projects aimed at restoring an infrastructure starved of cash for three decades.

Transport Secretary Stephen Byers told the House of Commons the plan drew "a line in the sand" and represented the point at which to say: "Enough is enough".

The package includes £33.5bn of public money which the authority hopes to match with £34bn from the private sector.

The billion pound upgrade of the East Coast Main Line is to be completed by 2010, and a new north-south high speed line will be considered after that date.

But the flagship plan came under close scrutiny by transport groups and business leaders in the North-East, who were disappointed that 70 per cent of the funding would be invested in London and the south-east.

Brian Milnes, chairman of Transport 2000 Tees Valley, said: "I think it's scandalous that they're throwing money at overheated, prosperous areas. It doesn't look as though it's serving this region."

There were also fears from passenger groups and politicians that the huge investment package may not be enough.

Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa May said the plan was a mix of previously-announced schemes and "cosmetic gimmicks", such as the refurbishment of station waiting rooms.

But SRA chairman Richard Bowker said he believed the funding was sufficient and that the plan was deliverable. He admitted that the Railtrack crisis had to be tackled before the blueprint could be implemented.

The plan includes new rolling stock, new waiting rooms and revamps of stations and moves to improve train staff training through a national rail academy, as well as major upgrades of routes.

Ernie Preston, secretary of the North-East branch of the Rail Passengers Committee, said: "The emphasis is on improving and getting existing services up to where they should be.

"I see it as a determination that the chairman and the SRA team are actually going to deliver this time."

Yorkshire Forward chairman Graham Hall said he was disappointed the region had to wait at least another eight years before major improvements would be made to the vital East Coast Main Line.

"This is a depressing picture for hard-pressed commuters and businesses in the region," he said. "We have looked in the plan for a detailed list of priority projects that will make a difference to this vital infrastructure that underpins the region's economy, but we cannot find any."

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