Network Rail budgets 2.8bn to cope with climate crisis

Network Rail is to spend nearly £3bn to protect against the effects of the climate crisis, as it warned that the country's railways were having to contend with hotter summers and more winter floods.

- Jack Simpson

As part of its new £45bn five-year investment plan, the body in charge of Great Britain's rail network will spend £2.8bn to help it cope with the impact of extreme weather.

Network Rail said millions would be spent making drains, cuttings and embankments more resilient to problems such as flooding or landslips.

The taxpayer-funded body plans to send key staff to its new "weather academy" to make them "amateur meteorologists", allowing them to interpret forecasts and make better operational decisions.

The rail network has been battered by extreme weather, with more than 14 named storms in the past 12 months, which have led to widespread disruption for passengers.

The highest-profile took place over Christmas when severe weather caused delays and cancellations, including on the Eurostar when the Thames tunnel flooded.