by Lamiat Sabin

MORE travel misery is expected on today’s bank holiday due to overrunning Network Rail engineering works.

Trains were delayed up to an hour yesterday between London’s King’s Cross station and Stevenage.Suspension and delays are likely to continue today after overnight works were carried out between Potters Bar in Hertfordshire and Sandy in Bedfordshire.

Marc Kent, a passenger caught up in yesterday’s hold-up, tweeted: “Why weren’t we told about the delayed engineering before boarding the train at 9.30? I would have taken the car! Shambles.”

Britain’s fragmented rail structure, forcing train companies and a non-profit public body to co-ordinate the running of vital services, has long been criticised since the privatisation of British Rail by John Major’s Tory government, even more so as bad reports continue to stack up against it.

At least 900 passengers had to be evacuated from overcrowded trains at Clapham Junction due to a major power cut on April 30.

Network Rail also came under fire over Christmas for late-finishing engineering works that caused chaos at Finsbury Park station on December 27.

Network Rail top executives were revealed last month to have spent £1.3 million on domestic flights since 2013. The taxpayer-funded body said that air travel was used because it is cheaper and quicker than rail, on which its bosses had spent £32 million in tickets.

Rail union RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Rail staff out there in all weathers, round the clock, battling to keep Britain moving will be disgusted to see the sums spent on luxury flights by their bosses at a time when engineers and signallers are fighting for a fair pay rise.”