Network Rail was prepared for disruption affecting steel production, it has emerged, after a weekend in which Parliament passed a Bill allowing the government to take control of the British Steel works in Scunthorpe. Network Rail had built up an emergency stock of rails which would meet its needs for the coming year.

The number of railway passengers travelling to work has reached 30 per cent, according to the Department for Transport, which says commuting also tends to be concentrated on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The most likely reason for using trains is travelling for leisure, which involved 54 per cent of journeys. Another 15 per cent of passengers were making journeys for business purposes.