Examining the National Audit Office (NAO) Report on increasing passenger rail capacity

The Department for Transport published a 30‑year rail strategy in July 2007 stating an ambition for a railway that could handle double the 1.15 billion passenger journeys made in 2006-07. This was against a background of increased demand for rail travel: passenger journeys were up from 0.74 billion in
1994-95. While capacity has also risen, crowding is widespread at peak times to, from and between major cities. For example, in 2008 nearly half of all passengers arrived into London between 08:00 and 08:59 on services that were either full or over-crowded. Other cities also experience high levels of crowding at the height of the morning peak.