Commuters on track for 100,000 extra seats

Ruth Kelly has ordered rail operators to provide an extra 100,000 seats for commuters. The move was hailed as a victory for the Evening Standard's A Seat For Every Commuter campaign when it was announced in October. Today, it emerged that 1,300 extra carriages will be introduced across the network.

Network Rail has been told to provide longer platforms to accommodate the extra carriages and ensure rail operators can run more trains at peak times.

Ms Kelly said £10 billion would be spent on increasing capacity over the next six years following an unprecedented 40 per cent growth in passenger numbers over the last decade.

"More people than ever are travelling by train," she said. "This is a major step forward towards fulfilling our commitment to tackle overcrowding on the busiest routes and deliver real improvements."

First Capital Connect, which runs trains in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Sussex and Cambridgeshire, has been asked to provide 256 more carriages.

One, which covers East Anglia, must provide 188 extra carriages; London Midland 92; c2c, which runs trains to Tilbury and Southend, 40.

South West, which covers south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset, has to provide 105 more carriages and Southeastern, which has routes in Kent and Sussex, 110.

First Great Western, which covers Oxford and the West Country, must provide 52 and Chiltern railways has to supply 12 more.

Ms Kelly said: "Following today's publication of the rolling stock plan, Network Rail can now begin their preparations for extending platforms, depots and sidings to accommodate longer trains."

However, industry experts doubted whether the increase will keep pace with expected growth in passenger numbers.

They point out that Network Rail believes an extra 1,800 carriages are needed.

Experts also say that the Government has assumed annual passenger growth of three per cent, but some operators, such as Virgin West coast, are seeing growth as high as six per cent.

Roger Ford of Modern Railways magazine said: "A lot of trains need replacing, there was nothing about that in today's announcement."